1st - 3rd Grade English Language Arts Guided Lessons

Learning how to read fluently includes more than just piecing letters together to form words. Kids also have to read from left to right and notice spacing between words. Help your child become a fluent reader by tackling these skills.

Spelling is a core language arts skill in the third grade curriculum. You can support kids' spelling skills with this guided lesson that features targeted instruction in common spelling patterns, as well as plenty of chances to practice. The content of this lesson was created by our team of teachers and curriculum experts. For even more spelling practice, consider downloading and printing our recommended spelling worksheets.

Grammar is an essential part of the second grade language arts curriculum. This guided lesson teaches second graders how to properly use collective nouns, additonal nouns and verbs, and provides plenty of opportunities to practice these grammar rules in context. For more important practice with nouns and verbs, download and print the grammar worksheets that we suggest alongside this lesson.

Teaching kids to blend, or combine, sounds in order to pronounce new words is an important element to first grade reading. Segmenting the sounds that make up a word, and then blending those sounds to pronounce them correctly, can be a tricky skill to master. This lesson helps take first graders through this process, with guided practice and helpful examples.

Vocabulary development helps second graders advance their reading and writing skills. This guided lesson uses exercises and techniques targeted to building vocabulary. Kids will be tasked with using descriptive adjectives, distinguishing between similar verbs and adjectives, and using context clues to determine the meaning of a word phrase. For more vocabulary boosters, check out the worksheets that align with this lesson.

Digraphs are combinations of two letters that together make just one sound. These extra special words are very common but can be tricky, as kids typically learn that letters make unique sounds. Practice this skill with these learning resources now!

This word play lesson teaches second graders about diphthongs (ow, ou, oi, oy and ew words) and tricky plural nouns (geese, feet, mice). It also introduces kids to the bossy R rule, which states that when the letter r follows a vowel it changes the way the word is pronouced, for example far, car, and fur. These rules can help second graders advance their reading fluency and spelling skills.

Second grade phonics covers more advanced rules that build upon kids' foundational reading skills, such as vowel pairs (ai, ee, ea, oo), long and short vowels, and the silent E. This guided lesson covers these three areas in order to enhance kids' skills with decoding more challenging texts. You can boost reading fluency further by printing the phonics worksheets that go with this lesson.

This literature lesson guides kids towards a deeper understanding of second grade texts through an exploration of character, setting, and plot. Kids will be challenged to answer the who, what, where, when and why of a story, in addition to determining the story's message. Two versions of the same story will be presented in order for second graders to see story elements in action.

Understanding the function of nouns is a crucial part of reading and writing fluency. This guided lesson focuses on the types of nouns kids are most likely to come across in third grade texts. Designed by our curriculum experts, the lesson provides grammar instruction and examples to support learning. For more practice, see the nouns worksheets recommended to go along with this lesson.

This year, third graders will be taking their vocabulary to new heights and exploring such concepts as metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and personification. This guided lesson in vocabulary and figurative language offers clear and practical definitions of new words and expressions, along with plenty of practice opportunities. Understanding vocabulary and figurative language deepens reading comprehension skills and enriches the writing process.

Sight words are commonly founds words that are not easy to decode because they don't follow set phonics rules (and must be learned by sight). Examples of sight words commonly found in first grade texts are would, thank, rain, and should. This guided lesson introduces first grader readers to even more sight words to help boost their comprehension and fluency.

This guided lesson in sight words can help boost first grade reading fluency. Sight words are common words that are not easily pronounced by early readers, such as people and great, which is what makes practicing these words so crucial. Kids will get the exposure to sight words that they need to take their reading comprehension to the next level.

Segmenting is a reading technique to help first graders break apart the sounds in new words. One example of this would be segmenting the sound units in the word black (b/l/a/k). This can help early readers tackle new words on their own, boosting reading confidence. This guided lesson teaches kids how to segment words in order to improve overall reading fluency.

Third grade writers will be tasked with writing longer and more complicated sentences. This guided lesson in understanding, constructing and punctuating sentences can support kids as they learn to build bigger and better sentences in their writing. Grammar instruction and practical examples were written by our curriculum experts, complete with a list of recommended building sentence worksheets for third graders.

In first grade, kids are piecing together all the words and letters they can decode in order to build stronger reading fluency. This is why their understanding of sight words, or commonly occurring words, is so important. This guided lesson familiarizes first graders with the sight words they will most frequently encounter in texts, boosting their decoding and comprehension skills.

Measurement and data in first grade includes such important concepts as comparing the length and weight of two objects using a third object. This guided lesson, designed by curriculum experts, takes students on an exploration of these measurement and data concepts. Once through with the lesson, kids can gain extra practice with measurement and data with the accompanying worksheets.

Learning parts of speech will help third graders to develop a deeper understanding of written language. This guided lesson teaches about adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections, which is the glue holding most sentences together. Designed by our team of teachers and curriculum experts, the content in this lesson provides instruction and examples that will support kids as they learn these important words.

Learning common constructions for words is one way that third graders can get traction on their spelling and reading comprehension skills. This guided lesson in word structure introduces kids to the idea that most words are made up of smaller words, and provides opportunities to apply this learning with practical examples. For more printable practice with word structure, check out our recommended worksheets.

The silent E makes a vowel says its name! Help your child remember this spelling pattern with these learning resources.

Verbs and adverbs are the action heros of the language arts world. Third graders will be learning how to use these parts of speech this year, and you can support them with this guided lesson. Written by curriculum experts, this lesson provides kids with grammar instruction and plenty of examples of verbs and adverbs. For more printable practice with verbs and adverbs, check out the accompanying worksheets.

Understanding how to pronounce the short I sound, such as in pill and film, is important for first graders encountering words they don't know. This guided lesson teaches kids all about the Short I sound, and provides lots of examples of short I words. Targeted practice like this helps to reinforce kids' understanding of short vowel sounds and boosts phonemic awareness, upon which lifelong reading skills are based.

Letter writing is an engaging and important writing format for third graders to master. You can support the development of letter writing expertise with this lesson that provides guidance on the structure and anatomy of a letter. Written by curriculum experts, this lesson will teach kids the various features that make a letter easier to read, and will also offer plenty of opportunities to practice.

Having a strong understanding of short A words like bag, hand and bat can help first graders with reading fluency. This guided lesson helps to support first graders as they expand their comprehension of short A words. With targeted exercises and familiar examples, the lesson will take kids through the short A words they will most commonly come acrsoos in first grade texts.

In first grade phonics, it's important to reinforce kids' understanding of short O words like dolphin, dog, sock and doll. By learning short vowels, kids can decode and decipher these sounds in words they don't already know. This guided lesson takes first graders through exercises and examples that will help them practice identifying short O sounds within a text.

Knowing the patterns for pronouncing short U words, such as jump, mug and sun, can help kids decipher and decode new texts. This lesson provides guided instruction to teach kids how to say the short U sound, and gives lots of examples of short U words first graders will commonly encounter. For more practice with short U words, be sure to check out the accompanying worksheets.

Some words are easily pronounced, such as cat, while others do not follow common rules of pronouciation and are more difficult for early readers to decipher. These are called sight words. This guided lesson provides kids with lots of examples of sight words, plus opportunities to practice what they have learned. When the lesson is finished, check out our accompanying sight words worksheets.