In this lesson, your students will learn all about the perfect recipe for a story! Your students will practice their knowledge by rolling a story element die and sharing with the class.

Getting hooked on a series or type of character creates reader engagement! Use this lesson to challenge your students to compare and contrast fictional texts as they find the joy in reading books by the same author.

Reading can be a rollercoaster with its ups and downs! Use this lesson that features a rollercoaster-themed story map to teach your students about story structure and how to use a graphic organizer to visualize it.

What’s the deal with all of those text features? Use this handy lesson plan to help your second graders answer that very question.

Your students will practice searching for clues to uncover the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction texts about John Muir and Day of the Dead traditions around the world.

Similes, metaphors, and idioms are some of the most widely used literary devices in both speaking and writing. Students will review each of these and practice creating some of their own.

Give your ELs concrete experience with adverbs and adverbial phrases as a tool to discover details in nonfiction texts. Use this as a stand-alone lesson or as support to the Hey! What's the Big Idea? lesson.

This lesson gives students practice identifying first person and third person narration in fiction and nonfiction texts. It could be taught as a stand-alone lesson or as a precursor to the lesson Fiction vs. Nonfiction.

Describe what's happening in the script! Use this lesson to help your ELs describe events in a drama. It can be a stand-alone lesson or used as support to the lesson Summer Drama.

Spring is in the air...and on paper! In this spring lesson plan, students will read spring-themed sentences in search of nouns and adjectives.

Good storytelling always includes a great ending! Your students will learn academic vocabulary and add their own conclusion to a short story. Use this as a stand-alone lesson or as an introduction to the Write Your Own Ending lesson plan.

Look at history! In this lesson, guide students through an exploration of the context, causes, and effects of the Transcontinental Railroad, and help them practice identifying the main idea and supporting details in a nonfiction text.

Reflexive pronouns are like mirrors—they both reflect back to the subject! Use this lesson with your students to give them practice correctly using reflexive pronouns in sentences.

Help your students learn new vocabulary in this hands-on lesson. Your class will learn new words by adding a silent e on the end of familiar CVC words.

This lesson will help students understand multiple-meaning words through the use of artistic and theatrical representation! Use as a stand-alone activity or a support lesson for Let's Compare and Contrast Nonfiction Texts!

Do you have students who are constantly asking what, who, where, why, how, and when? It's your turn to ask now! Have them read various stories and ask them to answer these questions in this lesson.

Help your students' story telling abilities grow with this lesson that helps them recount what happened in a story and has them point out key details.

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.

This engaging lesson teaches students about the famous author Faith Ringgold. Students will explore two pieces of literature, comparing and contrasting story elements, then write opinion pieces to illustrate which book they liked best.

Use this lesson to teach your students how to express opinions about nonfiction topics. This lesson can stand alone or be used as a pre-lesson for the What Does the Author Think? lesson.

Figurative language can be difficult, especially for ELs. With the help of context clues and exposure to common idioms, it can be a piece of cake! Use this as a stand-alone lesson or as a pre-lesson for the Take a Walk with Idioms lesson.

Suffixes can do some amazing things. They can turn "power" into "powerful," "big" into "bigger," and "fear" into "fearless." This hands-on lesson allows young writers to build their own words using different root words and suffixes.

Students will learn about the holiday El Día de los Muertos through engaging activities and connecting to their own traditions.

Nourish your child's inner writer with this lesson on three different forms of literature: poetry, prose, and drama. After going through some examples of each, students will demonstrate their knowledge by filling out bubble maps.

This lesson provides students with the opportunity to compare and contrast two athletes who have been instrumental in changing the world of women's sports.

Use this lesson to reinforce using sentence level context clues to decode challenging words in a nonfiction text. This can be used as a stand alone activity or a support the Using Context Clues to Understand Word Meanings lesson.

Teach your students about picture walks as a strategy to understand the author's purpose in a fictional text. This lesson can be used as a stand-alone lesson or as support for the Examining Author's Purpose in a Fictional Text lesson.

Understanding the big idea of a nonfiction text and being able to write a succinct summary are key fourth grade skills. This lesson focuses on summarizing a nonfiction passage in three to four sentences.

Students will use their understanding of plot, theme, and comparing and contrasting in this lesson that teaches about an award-winning African American author, Jacqueline Woodson. Students will read some of her fiction books and compare and contrast the stories. They'll also discuss what they think makes Jacqueline Woodson an award-winning author.

Frederick Douglass was an influential black man in U.S. history. In this lesson, the historical context is set for students so that they can conduct their own research on Frederick Douglass, using a graphic organizer and multiple sources, before writing an informational essay on him. Ideal for fourth and fifth grade students, this lesson plan not only gives students practice in research and essay-writing skills, it also has them exploring a fascinating part of our country's history.