Imagine a cross-curricular project that not only rewards learners for examining the textbooks used in their other classes but builds literacy skills as well! Groups compare the formats and writing style in their various textbooks. Teams...

Learners participate in a variety of emergent and early-literacy activities based on a "friendship" theme. Learners listen to the book Do You Want to Be My Friend by Eric Carle, then echo read, choral read, and independently read...

Germination is an amazing process that results in amazing things. The book The Tiny Seed is the inspiration for a set of activities that will help build early literacy, observation, language, and writing skills. The class observes how...

Students practice spelling their names.  For this technology and early emergent literacy lesson, students locate the letters in their name among a cluster of letters on the Smart board, then click and drag each letter to the other...

Classic fairy tales are great! They have memorable characters, present interesting story lines, and lend themselves to art projects. Grab a copy of "Rumpelstiltskin" and get ready to participate in several early literacy activities. The...

It ‘s assessment check list time, and you have nothing to prove that your learners mastered the skill RL.11-12.6. Rest assured, here is a plan that is sure to appease your administrator. It offers solid examples on the difference...

Link language development to literacy skills. This lesson plan template provides a comprehensible way to use the Braidy Web to maximize language and reading skills. It would be appropriate for developmentally disabled pupils reading at a...

Good Night, Moon is a classic little ones absolutely love. It's a sweet book that can be used, as in this lesson, to start a conversation about the difference between night and day. After reading the story, the class brainstorms...

In collaborative groups, young US historians sort cards (each labeled with a single early American event or issue) according to which of the first four presidents was leading the country at the time. Learners copy the events onto a...

Whether new to teaching or a seasoned pro, this 12-page phonics and phonemic awareness guide is a must for your curriculum library. Everything from a summary of research on the topic to exercises and activities is included.

The ABC's and beginning letter sounds are the foundation of strong reading skills. Use this presentation to build your young learner's abilities to recognize beginning sounds and alphabet letters. Each slide contains an image and a word...

What was the sound that letter made? The letter S is the phoneme of today's lesson and it is ready to make an appearance. Little ones discuss the sound S makes, then they hold up S cards every time they hear words containing the...

Blending basic CVC letters to make words is one of the first steps to independent reading. Provided here are several images of stairs and several letters to cut and arrange. The learner rearranges the letters to form CVC patterns, sounds...

Even young children watch sports and like team logos and products. It's never too early to think critically about what's onscreen. This exercise develops awareness that media communicate values (i.e. who participates in sports and who...

Helps learners recognize alphabet letters by having them glue dry pasta over their names. Scholars use a card with their names printed neatly, then decorate it with noodles while saying each letter they make. 

Little ones are provided with all the tools needed to begin segmenting phonemes. There are twenty Elkonin box picture cards, five blank Elkonin box cards, and full instructions on how to help pre-readers practice splitting and saying...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

Not only is this lesson about story retell, main events, and making predictions, it's also about plants. Youngsters will read the tale, The Tiny Seed as they explore the plant life cycle and early literacy skills. The lesson is very...

Scholars practice rhyming and phonemic awareness using trade books and poetry. They will listen to the book Mouse Mess several times throughout the week, identifying rhyming words, and matching words that begin with the same sound. Then...

Students in a teacher education program use a jigsaw method to identify the six areas of language arts to be taught in an early childhood classroom. They describe their vision of a literacy rich environment and practices uses a KWL...

Class groups examine a series of poems that use Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a motif in Holocaust poetry. Included are questions, notes to the teacher, and bibliographical information on each poem. The activities could be...

Develop historical analysis and interpretation with your older students. They will study and analyze three given interpretations of Christopher Columbus' life, which includes significant events, his character, and the impact he made on...

Even for one of the most accomplished men in American history, there was room for improvement. Challenge high schoolers to use Benjamin Franklin's Project for Moral Perfection to analyze text, make inferences, connect to historical...

After viewing The Last Roundup, a documentary that examines the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately owned island to a National Park, class members adopt the point of view of Tim Vail, a member of the family that once owned the...