When reading, we all encounter unknown words at times. But how do we figure them out? In this lesson, students learn how to become a “human dictionary” by using a variety of strategies to figure out the meaning of unknown words.

Using the same action verbs all the time can get old. Help your students spice up their writing by teaching them to identify and use action verbs. Your young writers will explore synonyms to improve their repertoire of action verbs.

Gabi Garcia's "Listening With My Heart" provides students with an opportunity to reflect on ways to extend themselves compassion all year long. This engaging lesson supports students in understanding what kindness is, as well as how to be kind to themselves and others in their daily lives.

Plan ahead for when you'll be out of the classroom! Planning for a substitute in the classroom is no problem at all with this daily sub plan. Your substitute can keep your students learning in your absence by using this packet of lessons, worksheets, and activities.

Inventors and their novel inventions are always a thrilling topic! In the lesson Researching Black Inventors, first graders and second graders are encouraged to research the rich history of African American inventors. This engaging lesson plan provides students with an opportunity to learn all about inventors they find interesting and the impact those inventors have on the world. Perfect for Black History Month, this learning activity highlights informational writing skills and helps build students' vocabulary.

Build words with this fun lesson for emergent readers. Using beads and pipe cleaners, your students will enjoy working with manipulatives to create three- and four-letter words!

Students love to explore instruments! Add some method to the madness by having students count, add, and subtract when working together to make music.

In this lesson, students will learn about their superpower sense of listening and speaking by listening and responding to questions with kindness, attention, and mindfulness.

Read aloud a hilarious diary written from the perspective of a spider, then use the story to launch your first grade journal writing. Students will love creating their very own writing journals.

This lesson, which features The Eye Book by Theo Lesieg, will keep young learners engaged with scavenger hunt activities that test their observational skills.

In this lesson, students will practice reading sight words and sorting them based on initial letter. This lesson can be used alone or with the Wowza Word Walls lesson plan.

In this lesson, your students will go through the writing process to write about their perfect pets and then make a 3-D version of this pet, mount the final draft, and display it.

In this fun blending lesson, students will get a chance to read and spell grade level words. This can be used as a stand-alone lesson or support for the Cooking Up Blends lesson plan.

With some help from Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and fish-themed templates, students will be able to learn about rhyming while having fun making pretend fishbowls.

Which bugs go on the rug? In this bug-themed lesson, students will look for words that are similar and fit into the -ug word family! By the end of the lesson they will create their own bugs for their uniquely designed rugs!

Your students will love playing the game, “Race to the Farm” while also practicing how to decode and pronounce words that contain R-controlled vowel combinations.

This quirky lesson will have young readers hungry to identify three and four letter words containing the digraph "th" in Eric Carle's classic The Hungry Caterpillar.

Distinguishing between facts and assumptions is an important life skill. In this lesson, students will articulate the difference between assumptions and facts through class discussion and a poster activity.

In this lesson, students will move through stations to practice and reflect on the mindfulness and social emotional learning tools that they have learned throughout the year.

Kids will be thrilled to fill their short "i" vocabulary banks using this lesson plan. It includes worksheets and oral activities to keep young learners engaged.

Use a playful theater activity to teach your first graders how to change a verb from the present to the past tense.

Use this interactive activity to help students learn blends and digraphs and the active reading strategy stop and jot! This lesson can be used as a stand alone activity or a support lesson.

Practice reading new words with your students as they learn about long vowel word families while creating their own mini word book.

Give your students the extra motivation they need to master consonant blends. Hook them in with this exciting lesson on the L blend. Expose them to beginning blends such as FL, SL, CL, GL, and BL.

Poetry? Scavenger hunts? Use this lesson to teach your students about the R-controlled vowels that say “er” using both! Your students will be reading those pesky er/ir/ur words in no time!

In this lesson, students will use Daniel Siegel’s “hand model of the brain” to identify how their brains work. They will learn the term “prefrontal cortex" (PFC) and about how their brains can grow when they learn new things.

Speaking with kindness and care can be easier with the THINK method! In this lesson, students will identify questions to ask themselves when speaking to others. They will also practice mindful listening with a partner.

Ever wonder how to get your students to understand r-controlled vowels? Meet Bird, Star, and the Bossy R! These characters will help your students understand how to read and identify that pesky Bossy R through a story and sorting activity.

Oink! Bark! Crash! Onomatopoeia help students write in richer, more descriptive ways. This lesson teaches students how to incorporate sound words into their vocabulary.