Get your students excited about expository text through this fun introduction to text features! Students will create their own glossary of nonfiction text features.

Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name, and students will have a blast writing persuasive sentences about her. This quirky lesson is sure to please young, creative minds.

Ask an important question this month: What does an activist do? This engaging lesson can be used leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day (and year-round). It supports students in understanding what it means to be an activist and how Martin Luther King Jr. used collaborative action to change the world and speak out against oppression. Perfect for first graders and second graders, this activity explores word meaning and other reading and writing skills.

We all love to tell stories, but a good story is clearly organized. In this lesson students will learn how to use transition words and strong endings when writing narratives.

Want students to use text features in their writing? Begin by having them examine the text features that they see in informational books.

In this lesson, students will create a set of instructions for navigating a life-size maze.

Which traits do your students share with their favorite characters? Find out as you introduce new adjectives! This lesson can be used alone or with the lesson plan All About Me: Character Traits.

This lesson plan teaches students about Jean-Michel Basquiat and his life as a child. First, students will listen to a story and figure out the main topic and details. Next, students will be asked to think deeply about what it means to be an artist and some of the types of art they like to create. Perfect for first graders and second graders, the lesson Black Artists: Basquiat highlights reading informational texts and building vocabulary.

In this lesson, students will hear the story Say Something and make promises to each other to speak up when others are lonely or hurt. They will also have an opportunity to express themselves through acts of service and painting.

This engaging lesson plan provides students with an opportunity to learn all about America's prima ballerina, Maria Tallchief.

From seed to flower, students will learn all about the life cycle of a plant in this science lesson. Your class will discover what living things need to grow, and learn the various stages of a plant’s life span, with new vocabulary words.

Young detectives will have a blast as they find context clues and solve a mystery in this fun-filled lesson plan. By paying close attention to a story, students will figure out missing letters to decipher a hidden message.

Use this lesson to give your students an opportunity to share about their family traditions. Prior to the lesson, they'll complete a worksheet to gather information about the way their family honors their culture and beliefs with traditions. They'll bring their information back to the classroom to share with their peers.