Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

How does the purpose of a fiction book differ from the purpose on a non-fiction text? Model for your young readers a scenario in which each kind of book might be useful or fun to read and show examples of each genre. A list of suggested...

Learners apply word analysis skills to recognize new words, identify genres of fiction and nonfiction, and identify important themes and topics. They explore differences in plants, flowers, and vegetables. A book bag full of activities...

If your ESL pupils love talking about movies, here is an activity ideal for providing practice with both informational reading and elements of a story. Given fictional movie posters, they decipher the information and put it into a...

Examine the book Stargazers by Gail Gibbons. Young readers will practice reading and interpreting information from diagrams in this informational text. They work together as a class on this skill and then move into independent...

Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...

Put scholars in charge of their learning! Individuals read information, discuss what they learned, and put their new knowledge into practice—all in a complete and detailed resource. Activities include creating a literary terms handbook...

Students complete activities using apples that help improve their science, math, and reading skills. In this apple lesson, students read the book Apples, Apples Apples and visit an orchard or farmer's market to buy a variety of apples....

Introduce the concept of myths to your class. Using the link to "Myths Around the World," read a story aloud and have learners list characteristics of a myth. Readers then choose their own myths from the site and work in groups to answer...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Get your class primed for a comparative analysis lesson with this activity. They compare and contrast their music preferences to those of their classmates. After reading an article, they identify current trends in popular music, analyze...

The second lesson plan in a series from ReadWorks.org, this lesson plan continues to explore the difference between fiction and nonfiction texts. The lesson plan opens with the teacher reviewing a class Venn diagram started in the last...

Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre.  Based on what...

High schoolers read examples of folk tales and describe the characteristics of fables and folk tales. They also examine the concept of fate and if it plays a part in people's lives.

Young scholars read a multicultural book called "This Is the Way We Go to School" by Edith Baer and Steve Bjorhman. They become culturally aware of the different nationalities around the world and different ways that they may do things...

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...

Young readers explore informational texts as they read a text entitled Giant Pandas by Gail Gibbons. The teacher will begin by explaining that one characteristic of informational texts is that they teach the reader new information...

Examine the elements of nonfiction writings in this lesson. Learners list common features of nonfiction and compare nonfiction and fiction books on the same topic. Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two genres.

Students identify the themes of different books by classifying their genre.  In this genre lesson, students examine a specific animal by reading both a nonfiction and fiction book about the species.  Students compare the...

Students read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.

Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

Students describe the sounds, moods and styles of two different types of music. After reading an article, they discover how a journalist uses language to describe and give feelings to the music. They review a type of music of interest...

Learners understand the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and good health.  In this health lesson students read text then create their own pamphlet on the cardiovascular system, weight gain, treatments and health risks.