Cluster 2: Craft and StructureArchived

Students will be introduced to the Everglades, learning about this special place for plants and animals that is unlike anywhere else on Earth. They will watch a presentation on some of the animals that live in the Everglades and start working on their Everglades Class Book.

Type: Lesson Plan

Through a story about three boys who become friends, children learn the importance of understanding that people who are different have strengths. This lesson focuses on friendship, self-confidence, and dealing with conflicts and teasing. This lesson addresses the following literacy skills: ask and answer questions about details and unknown words in text and write an opinion.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this close reading lesson, the teacher will read aloud Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. Students will answer text-dependent questions and explain the meaning of new vocabulary. They will identify sight words and choral read repetitive parts of the text. Students will identify the setting, characters, and important events (including the problem and solution) and record these on a story map. They will retell the story and create a tri-fold book with illustrations and sentences explaining the beginning, middle, and end of the story. After analyzing the text, students will draw and dictate or write to explain the problem and solution in the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read the beloved children’s book, Harry the Dirty Dog. They will use this book to explore the elements of a story including a focus on the main character. Students will create a “Lost Dog” poster for Harry that includes his description, picture, and what to do if he is found.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this 5-day lesson, students will engage in a variety of activities using the beloved Dr. Seuss books, Green Eggs and Ham and Wacky Wednesday. Students will explain the roles of the author and illustrator of a story. They will identify rhyming words in the stories and produce additional words that rhyme. Students will answer text-dependent questions to complete a story map and sequencing graphic organizer about each story. Using the graphic organizers, students will retell the stories. Finally, students will choose their favorite Dr. Seuss book and write an opinion statement telling why the book is their favorite.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will use the book, On a Farm by Alexa Andrews to practice identifying the topic and details of a text. Through the use of a bubble map and a student response sheet, students will record their learning after exploring the book. Student work will be appreciated at the end of the lesson with a gallery walk.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Fire Wheels MEA provides students with a problem in which they must work as a team to design a procedure to select the best toy car for a company to sell.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will go on an exploration of alphabet books to better understand the roles of authors and illustrators as well as print concepts, including uppercase and lowercase letters. After reading the books Alphabet Rescue, Miss Spider's ABC, The Mixed-Up Alphabet, and LMNO Peas, students will contribute to class discussions and create a class alphabet book. After reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, students will complete an uppercase and lowercase letter sort art project that will be used as a summative assessment while the teacher individually tests students on their understanding of print concepts and letter recognition.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students learn about the roles of authors and illustrators through read-alouds, charades, and book-writing. Students will have an opportunity to act out the roles of illustrators and authors. They will learn how to describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in a story. Students will also identify the beginning, middle, and end in popular picture books and will write and illustrate a simple narrative with a partner.

Type: Lesson Plan

Help a wizard name the author and illustrator of a storybook or informational book with this interactive tutorial. You’ll also learn the jobs of the author and illustrator in telling the story and presenting ideas or information in a text.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Identify the elements of storybooks (characters, setting, and events) and poems (lines and rhymes) and recognize their differences with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn strategies for understanding new words in this interactive tutorial. Join Handy Hal and learn how to use picture clues, context clues, and word parts to help you determine the meaning of an unknown word.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this activity, students will locate book titles, then sort them into fiction and nonfiction categories.

Type: Student Center Activity