This site has an (almost) endless supply of suggestions for what students, parents, and teachers can do to encourage more and more reading and literary involvement. Students participate in reading, dramatic, discussion, and artistic activities to reinforce their connection to the printed word and build comprehension in a very active way!
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Signs in Stitches and Song is a multi-lesson, interdisciplinary unit about the Underground Railroad for primary students. Concentrating on the codes and signal systems by which escaping slaves found their way northward, the unit includes language arts, science, music, geography and math components. The various elements can be used individually, or in combination. There are extensive illustrations, printable handouts, optional Flash animations, and suggestions for further study.
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Good writing skills are essential for secondary students. Writer's Workshop is an interdisciplinary writing technique which can build elementary students' fluency in writing through continuous, repeated exposure to the process of writing. Teachers can introduce elements of Writer's Workshop at any elementary grade. Ideally, however, the process begins in Kindergarten.
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TeachersFirst offers a listing of 100 of the best books for children, along with links to TeachersFirst's content about some of those books. Check out this list for some new literature ideas!
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A list of 100 Picture Books developed by the New York Public Library. List includes title, author, illustrator and publisher. There are links to catalogs (for ordering these books) and to the New York Public Library Homepage.
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Although TeachersFirst doesn't usually review a "list of links," our editorial staff found this one to be especially useful. Come to this site to find interactives about the 100th day of school. Learn about the history of this "holiday," use the printables, practice counting by 2s, 5s, 10s, and beyond with interactive challenges, find literature lists for the 100th day, and much more. Each link includes a detailed description about what is available for students at the site. Some of the links require Adobe Acrobat and/or Flash. You can get both from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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Practice present and past tense with this interactive game. Students must help two industrious bees find their flowers by choosing the correct form of the verb "to be". Instant feedback is provided. Nice activity for independent practice.
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From a school district in Indiana comes this web quest based on Louis Sachar’s book “Holes.” The quest invites students to search for information about the author, the book, and events that relate to Sachar’s story. This one could be used in class or independently by students at home.
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This well-designed website has books for 8 levels of readers from picture books to adult-level subjects in 17 general categories. Search using the advanced search function or browse through the favorites. Look for fiction or non-fiction, parts of series, and best of all books for reluctant readers. All books feature a summary and also an illustration taken from the book. The descriptions of the books are very enticing and often include quotes from the text.
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Even if it's not summertime, this reading list can provide librarians, teachers, and parents with great suggestions. "Best bets" in picture books, chapter books, and teen books are provided along with summaries and "alerts" regarding language or subject matter. A variety of reading level, subjects, and styles are included.
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This unique web activity presents students with a set of directions to make tea. A grandmother goes through all of the steps necessary to prepare her favorite tea. Once the students are finished reading the directions, they must arrange pictures in the correct order. Students are able to return to the grandmother if they need to reread the directions. This site requires FLASH. If you see a blank screen, you need to install the Flash player. Get it from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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This humorous (and creative) web activity challenges the students to add dialog to a seaside postcard. Students move the mouse over the picture to find the dialog boxes. When you click in the boxes, the cursor will allow you to type in your dialog. Once all boxes are completed, click the print button to see the entire picture with your dialog. FLASH is required for this activity.If you see a blank screen, Get FLASH from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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Familiar fairy tales and math skills come together in this unit plan that emphasizes critical thinking and mathematical reasoning. Using The Three Little Pigs, students must complete a variety of hands-on activities involving estimation, graphing, spatial perception, and measurement skills. Classification skills come into play with a compare/contrast analysis of several versions of Cinderella. An impressive and motivating set of activities. Aligned to National Standards.
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This Webquest challenges students, working in small groups, to read, share, and compare/contrast folk tales from different parts of the world. A printable chart is provided to guide the analysis, and a graphic organizer can be downloaded to help students organize their thoughts for the final activity - the creation of an original folk tale. Links to online fairytales are provided.
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This lesson involves early elementary students in planning a virtual vacation to the Arctic or Antarctic while learning about the physical characteristics of these two regions of the world. Combine this with an in-class reading of the Polar Express.
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Book Club Online offers a set of 14 lesson plans for E. L. Konigsburg’s novel which are designed to link classrooms to an online discussion of the book. Written by 4-5 grade teacher Elan Fitch, this very thorough lesson plan is created to be used with daily reading segments and begins with an outline containing each lesson’s focus. The lessons themselves have an introductory paragraph relating the lesson’s topic to the specific reading assignment, the lesson goal, vocabulary /context clues, and a writing prompt and an online prompt.
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Author’s On Line homepage for Aaron Shepard. - Appropriate for all elementary grade levels. - On this page you'll find loads of resources and treats (printable posters, music etc.) for teachers, librarians, storytellers, children's writers, parents, and young people -- all from award-winning children's author Aaron Shepard. His specialty is retold folktales. You'll also find information on Aaron, his books, and his author visits. Excellent resource site.
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This page provides lots of info and resources for using reader's theater in conjunction with plays, manuscripts, and folktales. Besides displaying Shephard's books for sale, click on Aaron's Extras to find scripts for plays and tales you can use in the classroom. Other offerings include worksheets, examples of scripting sheets you can use or learn to do it yourself, tips for using RT, and links to other references. You can search among the many materials available by genre, country, historical period, theme, etc.
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Kindergarten students learn their ABCs, numbers, how to tell time, and handwriting at this engaging, interactive website. Kindergarten teachers will appreciate this safe site to help with essential learning. Print the alphabet handwriting sheets for practice, or allow students to work the interactive clock to learn how to tell time, sans digital formatting.
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Learning or reviewing the alphabet is much more fun when it becomes a game. This interactive site tests students' understanding of the order of the alphabet. This could be an especially helpful reinforcing activity for students with learning difficulties. This site requires SHOCKWAVE. If you d not "see" the game, get Shockwave from the TeachersFirst Toolbox page.
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