Adapting the song "A-Hunting We Will Go," students put a "whale" in a "pail" and even "take a little "bear" and hug it if we "dare"."
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Creating an illustrated alphabet book of action words, from "attack" to "zap", reinforces the definition of verbs as it stretches and expands students' vocabulary.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Students are guided through an informal exploration of nonfiction texts and child-oriented Websites, learning browsing and skimming techniques for the purpose of gathering interesting information.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
In this informational text, elementary school readers learn about the difference between weather and climate and about components of the climate system. The text can be used to practice visualizing and other comprehension strategies. Available in K-2 and 3-5 grade bands and as an illustrated book as well as a text document, the story appears in the online magazine Beyond Weather and the Water Cycle.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Reading, Teaching/Learning Strategy
Students explore their towns' landmarks, symbols, and people; look at brochures and other informational tools; practice writing for a specific audience and revising; and work collaboratively to create a brochure.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
Students identify the elements of fiction in a book they have read and share summaries of them by writing and illustrating their own mini-book.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Students write resumes for historical fiction characters. They first explore help wanted ads to see what employers want, and then draft resumes for the characters they've chosen.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Students utilize their reading and writing skills as they think critically in order to sort books in multiple ways.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
During interactive read-aloud sessions, students identify how an author conveys mathematical information about animals' sizes and abilities. They then conduct research projects focusing on the same mathematical concepts.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
In this author study, students listen to and discuss four books by Leo Lionni. They identify similarities and differences in the stories and then compare two stories of their choice.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Students and the teacher produce a class book through a group-writing activity, focusing on a basic before-during-after sequence of events.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Students use their five senses as a prewriting tool to guide their poetry writing as they compose free-form poems using imagery to describe a color.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Multidimensional, challenging, and popular with students, comics provide an excellent way to introduce the concept of genres.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This lesson uses comic strip frames to define plot and reinforce the structure that underlies a narrative. Students finish by writing their own original narratives.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
The Compare & Contrast Map is an interactive graphic organizer that enables students to organize and outline their ideas for different kinds of comparison essays.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
The Comparison and Contrast Guide outlines the characteristics of the genre and provides direct instruction on the methods of organizing, gathering ideas, and writing comparison and contrast essays.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Interactive
Students use themed graphic organizers to compose cinquain poems on topics common in the early elementary classroom.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Students explore the menu genre by analyzing existing menus from local restaurants. They review adjectives and descriptive writing and then work in groups to create their own custom menus.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
What do cowboy hats have to do with fairy tales? Two traditional fairy tales and their Texas-based counterparts set the stage for five different ways to respond to text.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This series of activities is designed to teach research strategies. Students use KWL charts to guide their inquiry and publish their results in a collaborative question and answer book.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
