Groups of students read and discuss American folklore stories, each group reading a different story. Using a jigsaw strategy, the groups compare character traits and main plot points of the stories. A diverse selection of American folk tales is used for this lesson, which is adaptable to any text set.
American Folklore: A Jigsaw Character Study
Grades
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Utilizing Visual Images for Creating and Conveying Setting in Written Text
3 - 6
Lesson Plan
| Recurring Lesson
This lesson supports third-through-sixth grade students as they communicate story setting to their readers through the use of visual image prompts. Activities include individual and cooperative learning group work, as well as whole class discussion.
Grades
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Book Report Alternative: Creating a New Book Cover
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore book covers of a variety of books then create a new cover for a book they have read.
Grades
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Engaging Students in a Collaborative Exploration of the Gettysburg Address
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In small groups, students closely examine one sentence from the Gettysburg Address and create a multigenre project communicating what they have discovered about the meaning and significance of the text.
Grades
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Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students write persuasive letters to their librarian requesting that specific texts be added to the school library. As they work, students plan their arguments and outline their reasons and examples.
Grades
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Characters in Because of Winn-Dixie: Making Lists of Ten
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
The list of ten things about Opal's absent mother that her father shares in Because of Winn-Dixie serves as inspiration for students to create their own lists describing literary characters.
Grades
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Bridging Literature and Mathematics by Visualizing Mathematical Concepts
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
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.
Grades
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Using Picture Books to Teach Plot Development and Conflict Resolution
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read picture books to explore the concepts of plot development and conflict resolution. They first learn about the connections between reading and writing, and then revise their own writing.
Grades
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Mapping Characters Across Book Series
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students work on a guided characterization project, using a graphic map to illustrate the ways a character from a book series grows and evolves over the course of the story.
Grades
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Writing ABC Books to Enhance Reading Comprehension
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Using the alphabet as an organizing structure, students analyze literary elements in a book they have read and organize their observations in an alphabet book.
Grades
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Unwinding A Circular Plot: Prediction Strategies in Reading and Writing
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students use graphic organizers to explore plot in circular stories while focusing on prediction and sequencing. After exploring the features of circular plot stories, students write their own stories.
Grades
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Genre Study: A Collaborative Approach
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Recurring Lesson
Students explore multiple genres through genre studies. They record evidence of genre characteristics on bookmarks as they read, and finish by giving a book review for their classmates.
Grades
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Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
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.
Grades
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Authoring an Epilogue That Helps Our Characters Live On
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson uses One Green Apple by Eve Bunting to teach how characters change across a text. It will also guide students through writing an epilogue to accompany their independent book.
Grades
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Designing Elements of Story in Little Blue and Little Yellow
K - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this series of four lessons, students will explore key elements of design in Little Blue and
Little Yellow to learn about setting, character relationships, and plot.
Grades
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Boars and Baseball: Making Connections
4 - 7
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this lesson, students will make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections after reading In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. After sharing and discussing connections, students choose and plan a project that makes a personal connection to the text.
Grades
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Using Collaborative Reasoning to Support Critical Thinking
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
Students will participate in Collaborative Reasoning in small groups to discuss and think critically about issues of social justice and diversity by reading current events informational articles.
Grades
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Writing Acrostic Poems with Thematically Related Texts in the Content Areas
2 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read thematically related texts, scaffolded from simple to complex, to help them gather necessary concept vocabulary and background knowledge in a content area. They then write acrostic poems to organize and present their learning in a creative way.
Grades
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Captioning the Civil Rights Movement: Reading the Images, Writing the Words
2 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Teachers guide students to carefully view images from the Civil Rights Movement and write captions that accurately describe the images and/or their probable purposes.
Grades
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Picture This: Using Instagram to Report
4 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After taking a field trip that students document using mobile app Instagram, students become new reporters as they use the interactive Printing Press to tell about their experiences.