Reading
"The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done." ~~ Jean Piaget (1896 - 1980) Swiss cognitive psychologist
Wizard of Oz
Frank L. Baum (1856 - 1910) wrote fourteen children's books
and a handful of short stories about the mythical land of Oz, but it was
his first,"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", that became an American
classic and one of the most popular movies in film history,
Library of Congress: The Wizard of Oz: An American
Fairytale: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oz/
"Since its publication in September 1900, L. Frank Baum's ?The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz' has become America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale."
This virtual exhibit from the Library of Congress is divided into three
sections: To Please a Child, To See the Wizard, To Own the Wizard. Original
covers for many of Baum's children's books, Wizard of Oz advertising posters,
and W. W. Denslow's original black-and-white book illustrations can be
viewed here..
Project Gutenberg: Wizard of Oz: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/55
Because "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was published more than
one-hundred years ago, it is no longer covered by copyright in the U.S.,
and you can read the entire text online at Project Gutenberg. Other available
formats include Palm, Pocket PC, and plain text. Click on Frank L. Baum
to find more of his works, including an MP3 audio version of another book
in the Oz series, "The Wonderful Land of Oz."
Booksprice: http://www.booksprice.com/
"We compare book prices at the major online Book Stores to find the
best price for new & used books."
Robert Lee Frost ( 1874 - 1963) is one of
America's most famous poets and a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner His
poetry is both traditional and experimental and often memorized by school
children. He once stated that his goal was to write "a few poems
it will be hard to get rid of."
"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought
has found words." ~~ Robert Frost ( 1874 - 1963) American poet
*American Poems: Robert Frost: http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/robertfrost/
American Poems's Robert Frost page starts with a biography linked to related
poets (including Carl Sandburg and Ezra Pound) and ends with a listing
of 108 poems, sorted by volume. Each poem includes comments posted by
readers. Like all online public commentary, some of it is worthwhile,
and some is not. Another feature is the ability to email any of the poems
to friends and family.
* Frost Out Loud: http://robertfrostoutloud.com/
Eric Copenhaver's "labor of love" (includes thirty or so Frost
poems, most of which include both the text and an audio reading. A handful
also include a reading by Frost himself, and an offsite link to related
analysis. "You may find that the combination of the text and sound
in this modern-day medium enhances the experience of the poem even more;
the text supplements the sound and the sound enhances the text to create
a sum greater than the parts."
* Modern American Poetry: Robert Frost: http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/frost.htm
Modern American Poetry is the online companion to "Anthology of Modern
American Poetry" from Oxford University Press. It contains literary
criticism on thousands of poems from hundreds of American poets, and is
a great place to peruse before writing your high-school or college English
paper. In fact, if you are particularly proud of your finished paper,
you can send it in (see instructions on About the Site, linked from the
home page) and perhaps get published.
Word Count here: http://www.wordcount.org/main.php
WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the
way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English
words, ranked in order of commonality. Each word is scaled to reflect
its frequency relative to the words that precede and follow it, giving
a visual barometer of relevance. The larger the word, the more we use
it. The smaller the word, the more uncommon it is.
WordCount data currently comes from the British
National Corpus®, a 100 million word collection of samples of written
and spoken language from a wide range of sources, designed to represent
an accurate cross-section of current English usage. WordCount includes
all words that occur at least twice in the BNC®. In the future, WordCount
will be modified to track word usage within any desired text, website,
and eventually the entire Internet.
WordCount was designed with a minimalist aesthetic, to
let the information speak for itself. The interface is clean, basic and
intuitive. The goal is for the user to feel embedded in the language.
America's Most Literate Cities 2004: http://www.uww.edu/npa/cities/
For 79 US cities with populations above 200,000, this study measures "the
public's propensity for reading" in several ways, including library
circulation, financial support for public libraries, number of bookstores,
educational attainment, number of magazines and journals published there,
and newspaper circulation.
The Digital Library: a Biography: http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub109/pub109.pdf
Case studies of six major digital libraries illustrate opportunities and
pitfalls provided by the electronic medium.
Reading Room: http://specialcollections.blogspot.com/
A new blog devoted to rare books and special collections.
Theological Libraries: Historical Sources: http://www.ptsem.edu/grow/library/nyatla/sources.htm
a Webliography compiled by David Stewart of Princeton Theological Seminary
Literature for Children: http://susdl.fcla.edu/juv/
"a collection of the treasures of children's literature published
largely in the United States and Great Britain from before 1850 to beyond
1950. At the core of this Collection are books from the Baldwin Library
of Historical Children's Literature, housed in the Department of Special
Collections and Area Studies at the University of Florida."
Gnooks - welcome to the world of literature:
http://gnooks.com/
"Gnooks is a self-adapting community system based on the gnod engine.
Discover new writers you will like, travel the map of literature and discuss
your favorite books and authors." You can type the name of an author
to find discussions, or to see a clickable literature map of comparable
authors -- the closest names in the visual display are considered most
akin to your target author.
Language Arts Curriculum Links: http://www.msad54.k12.me.us/MSAD54Pages/Curriculum%20Resources/languagearts.html
Why do we love quotations? Marlene Dietrich,
the German-born American actress and singer, summed it up nicely when
she said "I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts
one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized
wiser than oneself."
*Annabelle's Quotation Guide: http://www.annabelle.net/
From "Adventure" to "Writing,"
Annabelle's quotes are arranged into 120 topics, including some unique
ones such as "September 2001 Attacks" and "Censorship &
Free Speech." Click on any quote's author to see more, or visit "Topics"
to browse authors alphabetically. There is also a search function, making
it easy to find exactly what you are looking for. Quote Grams lets you
pair quotes with photos and send them to friends and family.
*Bartleby.com: Familiar Quotations: http://www.bartleby.com/100/
John Bartlett, an American publisher born in 1820, published nine editions
of "Familiar Quotations" in his lifetime. This is the 1919 tenth
edition, the first to be produced after his death. Traverse it with the
search function, or the chronological and alphabetic author indexes.
*Brainy Quote: http://www.brainyquote.com/
Brainy Quote hosts "over 38,000 famous
quotes by 10,000 authors from Aristotle to Zappa." Each author's
page includes some biographical facts and a link to their books at Amazon.com.
Want to add a daily quote to your own site? No problem. In fact, Brainy
Quote offers six topics for you to choose from. And just for the fun of
it, try your hand at Quote Trivia.
Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare:
http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/shakesp/midsum.pdf
Study Guide for Midsummer Night's Dream: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/midsummer_nights_dream.pdf
Lesson Plans: Guess that Scene: A Review of A Midsummer Night's Dream
Through Performance: http://www.folger.edu/education/lesson.cfm?lessonid=159
Lesson Plans:"Such Affection Move": Finding Staging Clues in
A Midsummer Night's Dream: http://www.folger.edu/education/lesson.cfm?lessonid=141
Cue Sheets for Students - A Midsummers Night's Dream:
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/cuesheet/pdf/KCMID.pdf
Shakespeare: Subject to Change: http://www.ciconline.org/bdp1/
Shakespeare in PDF's: http://www.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/shake.htm
World Poetry Audio Library: http://www.english.eku.edu/Pellegrino/worldpoetry/
Since poetry is designed to be heard, a good recitation helps unlock meaning.
RhymeZone: http://www.rhymezone.com/
"Type in a word below to find its rhymes, synonyms, definitions,
and more"
Anne Frank the Writer: an unfinished story:
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/af/htmlsite/
Anne's diary, published in 1947 and eventually translated
into almost 70 languages, is for many young readers the first encounter
with the history of Nazi Germany. Between the ages of 13 and 15, Anne
wrote short stories, fairy tales, essays, and the beginnings of a novel.
Five notebooks and more than 300 loose pages handwritten during her two
years in hiding survived the war. This website presents an indepth
look at her writings through the use of a narrated exhibition, interviews,
an opportunity for site users to respond, artifacts from the museum, and
links to other recommended sites. Produced by The United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
Grade Level: Early Childhood (K-2), Elementary,
Middle School, High School, College, Adult/Professional
Content Area: History & Social Studies (World History)
Today in Literature: Great Stories, People,
Books & Events in Literary History: http://www.todayinliterature.com/
"features a new original biographical story each calendar day about
the great writers, books, and events in literary history. Our articles
are supplemented with links to recommended websites where you will find
author biographies, electronic texts, reviews, quotes and other reference
materials..."
Enoch Pratt Free Library - estories http://www.epfl.net/kids/estories/ESTORIES_archive_list.cfm
Listen to and watch master story tellers tell stories based on different
traditions (Native American, African, Iranian, Jewish)
Gloria's Website - implementing the writing process in the classroom: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/fiss/default.htm
A writing activity for the week before any holiday is for students to listen to and read stories from the popular Chicken Soup series. Explain to them that they are going to make their own books designed to be a holiday gift for a family member. The book is titled "Chicken Soup for the Holiday Soul," and the students make a cover just like the Chicken Soup books, a table of contents, and a dedication page. Stories that they might include are: Best Holiday Gift I Received, Best Holiday Gift I Ever Gave, Favorite Holiday Family Tradition, What the Holidays Mean to Me, and so on. Have the students include some fun poetry, like acrostics, and silly lists like Top 10 Best Things to Get in Your Holiday Stocking.
Folklore and Mythology E-Texts: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
Edited and translated by Prof. D. L. Ashman. It has a combined index of
authors, titles, and themes (baldheaded men, "abducted by aliens,"
end of the world," etc.).
SurLaLune Fairy Tales Site: http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/
"A portal to the realm of fairy tale and folklore
studies featuring 26 annotated fairy tales, including their histories,
similar tales across cultures, and over 1,000 illustrations."
The Robin Hood Project: http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/rh/rhhome.stm
THE ROBIN HOOD PROJECT is designed to make available in electronic format
a database of texts, images, bibliographies, and basic information about
the Robin Hood stories and other outlaw tales.
Robin Hood - Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and
Sherwood: http://www.boldoutlaw.com
Language Tools, iTools: http://www.itools.com/lang/
At this site there are over one dozen reference tools on one page, including
dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, crossword and word scramble solvers,
along with text language translators.
Title Ball: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/title_ball/index.html
Punctuation Campground: http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/punctuation/index.html
Corey Green: http://www.coreygreen.com/index.html
Felix's Clubhouse: http://www.abbeville.com/felix/index.htm
Super Kids Vocabulary Builder: http://superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/
The Electronic Library - Using Technology
to Resolve Children's Reading Difficulties While Restoring Their Self-Esteem:
http://www.tomes.ca/_library/
The Electronic Library has been used extensively in the United Kingdom,
Australia and New Zealand. It is based on the concept that reading is
an antisocial activity and assumes some working knowledge
of the code. An extensive research project was done in the UK and now
the first informal research on the library was done in PE, a small Canadian
province.
The Textmapping Project: http://www.textmapping.org/index.html
"Textmapping is a graphic organizer technique that can be used to
teach reading comprehension and writing skills, study skills, and course
content."
Great Lakes' Great Books Award: http://www.mraread.org/greatbooks/index.html
The Fantastic in Art and Fiction: http://fantastic.library.cornell.edu/
For such topics as "The Dance of Death, "Angels and Demons,"
"Weird Science," "Fantastic Space," this presents
a brief backgrounder, a variety of images, and a list of sources for the
images. Created by the Cornell Institute for Digital Collections, drawing
on the rare and manuscript collections of the Cornell University Library.
Hanover Historical Texts Project: http://history.hanover.edu/project.html
"The Project's principal aim is to make primary texts readily available
to students and faculty for use in history and humanities courses."
There's a little of everything here: pre-Socratic dialogues, letters of
the Crusaders, decrees of the Council of Trent, documents of the slave
trade, documents of the French and American Revolutions, etc. Lots more
is promised for texts from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Fairy Tale and Folk Tale Cyber Dictionary: http://www.op97.org/instruct/ftcyber/ is a simple project for primary-grade students. After reading a folk or fairy tale, each student in the class chooses a word to illustrate and write a sentence about. The stories and illustrations are submitted and posted on the project Web site. Students and their teachers will become part of an international community of primary-aged students who have produced content for their peers using fairy or folk tales and the Internet. Grades 1-3.
Quentin Blake: http://www.quentinblake.com/
Quentin Blake's website has amusing illustrations and entertaining activities.
Here you can find out all about the man who brought characters to life,
from Mister Magnolia and Mrs Armitage to the BFG and Matilda. You can
find the latest news and information on new books and exhibitions, and
suggestions for teachers and parents.
Artbomb.net: http://www.artbomb.net/aboutus.jsp
Artbomb's mission is to promote diverse and sophisticated graphic novels.
The books are classified by genre.
America Reads: Resource Kit: http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/resourcekit/
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children: http://stills.nap.edu/html/prdyc/
Beginning to Read: Preschool to Grade 2: http://www.ed.gov/Family/RWN/Activ97/begin.html
Between the Lions: http://pbskids.org/lions/
Child Becomes a Reader
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/readingk-3.pdf
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/pdf/low_res_child_reader_B-K.pdf
Put Reading First
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/Cierra.pdf
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/Parent_br.pdf
Free Publications to Order: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubskey.cfm?from=nrp
When Stars Read - VIDEO: http://www.ldonline.org/videos/when_stars_read.ram
Why Children Succeed or Fail at Reading
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/nichdbrochure.html
http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading/cars.html
KidReach Online Reading Center: http://www.westga.edu/%7Ekidreach/
LEARNS
http://www.nwrel.org/learns/
http://www.nwrel.org/learns/pdf.html
MARCOGRAM: Reading, It Take You Places
http://www.marcopolo-education.org/MarcoGrams/11-25-02.html
Simple Things You Can Do to Help: http://www.ed.gov/PDFDocs/simple.pdf
The Handmade Book: http://cfmedia.scetv.org/periscope/display/ArchiveStory.cfm?articleID=76&pageN
umber=1&moduleID=55
Reading Planet: http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/
Read and Rise: http://www.nul.org/pdf/2002guide.pdf
Launching Young Readers: http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/
A Spiderman Comic Book: http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/spidey/spidey.pdf
Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science: http://www.aft.org/edissues/downloads/rocketsci.pdf
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad
Day:
http://play.rbn.com/?url=kennedy/kennedy/g2demand/alexander.smi&proto=rtsp
Harlem:
http://play.rbn.com/?url=kennedy/kennedy/g2demand/harlem.smi&proto=rtsp
Brothers of the Knight
http://play.rbn.com/?url=kennedy/kennedy/g2demand/brother.smi&proto=rtsp
Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
http://wiredforbooks.org/peter2.ram
http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=386
AddAll.com: http://www.addall.com
"AddALL searches all the data bases of all the major on-line bookstores.
This makes us the biggest book database on the Internet." You can
also click on Used & Out of Print Books to search this separate database.
Booktalks -- Quick and Simple: http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/default.htm
Components of Effective Reading & Writing Instruction K-8: http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/english/comp_effect_rwinstr.htm
A Day to Day Calendar of Reading Activities:
http://www.rif.org/parents/resources/monthly.mspx
You can download a calendar page with each day of the month filled in
with a different literacy activity. It's from the Reading Is Fundamental
site, and makes a good addition on your refrigerator door.
Eight Areas of Learning and Your Child's
Mind: http://www.allkindsofminds.org/content/Adoptive%20Family%20Learning%20Styles_LEVINE1.pdf
Mel Levine of the University of North Carolina has sorted the way we learn
into eight different areas that include spatial thinking, attention, sequential
thinking, and more. This article has a one-page chart that lists all eight
areas, what to look for, and what to do if the area is a strength or if
it's a weakness for your child.
The Westing Game: http://www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/wisauth/raskin/intro.htm
This site has the actual manuscript on it, showing various drafts. Raskin
wanted students to learn about the creative writing process and also learn
why we do all the pre-writing, rough drafts, first drafts, etc. It shows
why we proofread also. It also has audio's explaining the drafts.
Children's E-Books
The Kennedy Center's "Storytime Online": http://www.kennedy-center.org/multimedia/storytimeonline/
This is a wonderful site! Pictures from the book are shown, the book is
read and the works are displayed. All of this and music too!
International Children's Digital Library:
http://www.icdlbooks.org:8080/servlet/TitleList?sort=title&pnum=1
Very easily searched, but this site is hard to read online. It would be
fine for printing, however.
Kids Corner: http://wiredforbooks.org/kids.htm
Compact For Reading and School-Home Links:
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CompactforReading/index.html#links
Printable pages for Kindergarten through grade three.
Literacy Center: http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm
Basic colors/shapes/etc. with sound
Little Animals Activity Center: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/laac/
Animal activities, read-along stories, and more for primary grades (includes
audio).
Read Alouds: http://childrensbooks.about.com/cs/readalouds/
Elements of a Mystery: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/childrens_writing
MysteryNet's Kids Mysteries: http://www.mysterynet.ncom/learn/lessonplans/writing.shtml
MysteryNet's homepage: www.mysterynet.com
A Unit for [Your State]
Authors
Students first chose a book by the state's authors.
Then they read the book and kept a journal of the story by chapters. Include
figurative language used by the authors to make their stories more interesting.
They make an author card in the shape of the state with the picture, dates
birth/death, and any books
receiving awards.
A speaker might come in to talk to the students about book talks. The
students are then videotaped having a book talk with other students that
share the author.
Students research the author.
The project ends with a PowerPoint about the author.
The Quotations Page: http://www.quotationspage.com/
Hamlet on the Ramparts: http://shea.mit.edu/ramparts/welcome.htm
Interesting. This site, hosted by MIT's Shakespeare Project, is an attempt
to compile all known resources devoted to Hamlet, Act 1, Scenes 4 and
5, in which Hamlet meets the ghost of his father.
The Hogwarts Challenge: http://www.palmdps.act.edu.au/resource_centre/booklook/harry_potter/intro_potter.htm
Harry Potter Word Search: http://www.funorama.com/wfharrypotter.html
The Magical World of Harry Potter: http://www.thinkquest.org/library/lib/site_sum_outside.html?tname=J001330&url=J001330/page19.html
Harry Potter: http://pirates.k12.ar.us/cre/labert/harrypotter.htm
The Red Hat Society philosophy is based on
the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph. It speaks of an old woman
who "wears purple and a red hat that doesn't go", and she does
some outrageous things that "sweet little old ladies" just are
not supposed to do. Red Hatters are a fun-loving bunch
of ladies, who have given themselves permission to be eccentric and outrageous.
They love to play dress up, and go to tea, and do other fun things --
in their purple outfits and red hats, of course!
An edited version of the poem is at: http://www.redhatsociety.com/poem.html
with directions to how to purchase an unedited version.
Mrs. Kramps WebQuests: http://www.bgcs.k12.oh.us/kramp/default.htm
These are WebQuests designed by a fourth grade teacher
based on literature books.
75 Years of Pooh: http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/pooh75/
Pooh's publishers created this thoughtful and delightful site a few years
ago in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the publication
of Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926. There are interactive games, Pooh recipes,
and audio samples of Charles Kuralt reading from two Pooh books plus the
Pooh Party package (seventeen printable pages including invitations and
party games) and the chapter-by-chapter
Winnie-the-Pooh Classroom Activities.
Just Pooh: http://www.just-pooh.com/
There is a Shockwave Honey Tree game, plus Pooh e-cards to send to friends
and family, a twenty-five question quiz, the History of Pooh, book excerpts
(Stories), and a character guide (100 Acre Woods.)
The Page at Pooh Corner: http://www.pooh-corner.org/
James Milne's Page at Pooh Corner contains biographies of author A.A.
Milne, illustrator E.H.
Shepard, and the real-life Christopher Robin (the author's son). It also
has photos of the original stuffed animals that served as inspiration
for the world famous stories. Is webmaster Milne
related to the author? "As far as my family can tell, we're not related
... Still, it's fun having the same last name!"
Steps for Creating an Ode
1. Select a person, place, or thing that you want
to write about.
2. Write phrases describing how your item makes
you feel and why you feel this way.
3. Write many phrases telling unique qualities of
your subject.
4. Now, explain why your subject is important to
you and why you adore it so much!
5. Join some of your phrases into lines for your
ode. Remember they don't have to rhyme!
Now revise your lines following these steps:
- take away any lines that are too similar
- add more feeling to any meaningless lines
- pick a good opening line or sentence
- order the remaining lines into their best sequence
- select a good closing line that clearly expresses your feelings about
that subject
Rewrite your ode in a final draft.
"Birth of a Nation"
Downloads of the 1915 movie: http://www.uno.edu/~drcom/Griffith/Birth/
Teacher Guide: http://www.webster.edu/fatc/birth.html
Synopsis: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Bungalow/1204/bnation.htm
Primary Sources: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb08.html
Handouts and Materials for Students and Teachers:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index.html
Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee: http://www.spellingbee.com/
Children's Book Council of Australia: http://www.cbc.org.au/
This Little House of Mine: Grown-Up Thoughts:
http://www.common-place.org/vol-03/no-03/seidman/
Cable in the Classroom has a multimedia website called "Shakespeare: Subject to Change": http://www.ciconline.org/broadband which explores the printing process of Shakespeare's plays and variations in performances of his plays.
Books about chocolate
Chocolate by Hershey : a story about Milton S. Hershey -Burford, Betty
The Hershey's Kisses addition book -Pallotta, Jerry
The Hershey's Kisses subtraction book -Pallotta, Jerry
The Hershey's milk chocolate multiplication book -Pallotta, Jerry
Beans to chocolate -Snyder, Inez
Choco-Louie -Kindley, Jeffrey
The chocolate lovers : a children's story and cookbook -Loon, Joan van
The chocolate-covered contest -Keene, Carolyn
From cocoa bean to chocolate (Start To Finish) -Nelson, Robin
A guide for using Charlie and the chocolate factory in the classroom
-Ryan, Concetta Doti. - Teacher Created Materials, Westminster, CA :
c1993.
Lucky pennies and hot chocolate -Shields, Carol Diggory
The magic school bus in the rain forest -Scholastic
Oh, Ducky! : a chocolate calamity -Slonim, David
Painted eggs and chocolate bunnies -Parker, Toni Trent. (Symbols of Easter)
The secret ingredient -Stanley, George Edward
Simply delicious! -Mahy, Margaret
Wellington's chocolatey day -Inkpen, Mick
Correction: #12. Chocolate: Riches from the Rain Forest -Burleigh, Robert
This is a site for children who are beginning to read.
Guide to Grammar and Writing: http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm
includes PowerPoint presentations and interactive activities
Fundamentals of English Grammar: Description
and Use by Donald E. Hardy: http://www.engl.niu.edu/dhardy/grammarbook/title.html
The entire book is online.
Daily Grammar: http://www.dailygrammar.com/
Daily Grammar sends you e-mail messages with a grammar lesson five days
of the week and a quiz on the sixth day.
Family Education: Charlotte's
Web:
http://www.familyeducation.com/topic/front/0,1156,2-14096-1,00.html
Collection of two quizzes, one word search, and two related art activities
(including a
paper mache piggy bank built around a balloon), plus a letter from E.B.
White, in which he answers questions frequently asked by children, and
the text of the entire first chapter. For links to even more Charlotte's
Web vocabulary and math pages, click on Online Fun, listed under Activities.
Harper Children's: E.B. White
http://www.harperchildrens.com/hch/author/author/white/
E.B. White wrote books for children and adults, as well as writing essays
and drawing sketches for The New Yorker magazine.
The New York Times: Life & Times of
E.B. White
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/08/03/lifetimes/white.html
Five-minute audio clips of readings from Charlotte's Web, The Trumpet
of the Swan and Stuart Little, plus a collection of New York Times' articles
by and about E.B. White.
Pocantico Hills School: Charlotte's Web:
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/charlotte/
Each year, Mrs. Taverna's second-grade class reads Charlotte's Web, and
each year (since 1998) the students then add a little something to their
Pocantico Hills School Charlotte's Web site, including the ABCs of Charlotte's
Web (A is for Avery, B is for Barn), Chapter Summaries, The Mystery Quotes
Quiz, Charlotte's Web Trivia Crossword Puzzles, and a big section on Spiders.
Stuart Little 2: http://www.stuartlittle.com/
Seven games that you can play online or download to your PC or
Mac) and Cool Stuff (for e-cards and computer wallpaper.)
Dr. Suess sites
PRINTABLE CAT IN THE HAT MAZE: http://www.seussville.com/seussville/games/maze/
MAKE A MANY COLORED DAYS BOOKMARK:
http://www.seussville.com/seussville/titles/days/bookmark.html
"AT" FAMILY PRINTABLE: http://abcteach.com/Reading/suess/at.htm
Acivities for words rhyming with "at"
TEACHING PHONOGRAMS THROUGH THE SNEETCHES:
http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Reading/RDG0012.html
http://www.randomhouse.com/seussville/
http://www.seuss.org/seuss.home.html
http://www.nea.org/readacross/games.html
http://k12.albemarle.org/MurrayElem/White/Seuss/seuss.shtml
Recordings for the Blind: http://www.rfbd.org
has several thousand books on tape available for students with vision
problems. If they don't have the tape, they'll make it for you...if you
supply them with two copies of the book (one for recording and one for
their archives). There is a fee for activation of
the service for the student, but once activated, the student is a member
of the program for life. (This is very useful for when they go to college.)
You will need to have verification of the student's vision from an ophthalmologist,
vision teacher, etc. Check their online form for more
details.
Knowing Poe (Maryland Public Television):
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/
The Literature, Life, and Times of Edgar Allan Poe...
In Baltimore and Beyond. Through the activities on this site, you can
introduce learners to the literature, life, and times of one of America's
foremost writers. Here, you will: explore his worlds, both fictional and
real, from a number of perspectives; examine the complex choices writers
such as Poe make as they create their works; investigate the "hard
facts" about life and death in Baltimore and the United States during
Poe's lifetime; and learn about the continuing impact of Poe's legacy.
In addition to these interactive experiences, there are
lesson plans created by Maryland teachers, primary source documents, links
for further research, and materials for fun family activities related
to Edgar Allan Poe. Classroom Connections is a:
http://knowingpoe.thinkport.org/classconn/
Grade Level: Elementary, Middle School, High
School, College, Adult/Professional
Content Area: Arts (Literature), Education (Curriculum), English (Literature)
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art: http://www.picturebookart.org/home/index.asp has the works of Carle, Maurice Sendak, Nancy Eklholm and more than a dozen other artists slated for display at the Amherst, Mass., museum. Educators and children around the nation also have access to the museum through its Website. The site features examples of new and well-known works, along with recommended reading, tips for sharing books with young children and descriptions of upcoming events. Links to other online resources featuring children's books also are provided.
Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers:
http://www.pbs.org/launchingreaders/
features parent tips, video clips & transcripts from interviews with
reading experts; motivational e-cards
grandparents & teachers can send to children; a forum for sharing
suggestions; booklists; & answers to key questions. This website,
which accompanies the PBS "Reading Rockets" television series,
also provides overviews for the 5-part series.
Public Speaking
Allyn & Bacon's Public Speaking Website: http://www.abacon.com/pubspeak/
Allen & Bacon publishes several college textbooks on public speaking,
along with this companion website that weaves online resources into a
five module mini-course, including Assessing your Situation, to Delivering
Your Presentation, Ask the Speech Doctor ("Would you like some individual
help with your speech?") and the downloadable PowerPoint presentations
for teachers of public speaking classes.
The Art of Public Speaking: http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/comm/lucas/student/
The Art of Public Speaking is another college textbook site, this one
supplements the McGraw-Hill book by Stephen Lucas. Under the Resources
heading, you'll find links to sites that supplement and relate to the
textbook itself. Some of these are useful without the textbook (such as
the history
of public speaking, and career explorations) while others are not. There
is "Guides to Public Speaking" in the right-hand column, which
include How to Give Your First Speech and Presentation Graphics.
Great American Speeches: http://www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/timeline/
PBS has created a timeline of ninety twentieth-century American speeches,
set among relevant historical events. To view the full text of each speech
in a pop-up window, click on the Speech tag.
Some entries also include audio or video clips. The archive begins with
Booker T. Washington's 1895 speech at The Cotton State Exposition in Atlanta,
GA, and concludes with Elie Wiesel's 1999 speech at a White House symposium
that marked the forty-fourth anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald
concentration camp.
Toastmasters International: 10 Tips for Successful
Public Speaking: http://www.toastmasters.org/tips.asp
"Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and healthy.
It shows you care about doing well. But, too much nervousness can be detrimental.
Here's how you can control your
nervousness and make effective, memorable presentations." Everyone
loves lists of ten, and these Toastmaster tips do not disappoint. The
site also includes a searchable directory of Toastmasters clubs worldwide,
with a guide to starting a new club at school, work or in your community.
Virtual Presentation Assistant: http://www.ukans.edu/cwis/units/coms2/vpa/vpa.htm
Supporting Your Points is where you'll learn about using statistics, humor,
facts and narrative
to defend your claim; and you can examine famous speeches that include
good support, such as Lincoln's Gettysburg address, and King's I Have
a Dream speech.
The Six Types of Folk Stories
Objectives: Students will be able to identify some
key elements of folktales, fables, fairy tales, legends, myths and tall
tales, and be able to differentiate between them.
Materials: Selections from each genre, chart paper,
markers.
Procedure: Define genres (7
minutes). Say, "Today we're going to play a game to learn the differences
between these six genres of literature, called folk stories. They are
stories that were told aloud, passed
down by communities in every country of the world. Each of these six genres
are pretty similar, but there are some important differences."
Go over each genre:
1. A fable is very short, with a moral at the end. Characters are usually
talking animals.
2. A folk tale is a story, also usually with talking animal characters,
which uses a pattern (numbers, repetition).
3. A fairy tale is similar to a folk tale, but the characters are people.
There are obvious "good guys" and "bad guys," and
magic is usually involved.
4. A myth is a magical story about how natural forces work (death, creation,
weather). Sometimes myths have gods, goddesses, or heroes.
5. A legend is similar to a myth, but it is based on actual historical
events or people.
6. A tall tale is a story about a heroic person who did completely outrageous,
impossible things.
Ask students to suggest examples of each type as
it is described.
Describe the game (3 minutes). Divide the students
into teams and give each team a genre. Say, "On the floor are some
books. Each book is a kind of folk story. You have to look through the
books and try to find all the folk stories that fit your team's genre.
Bring the book back to your team's table when you think you have one that
fits. Then you have to explain why you think the folk story falls into
that genre. It's not enough to just say 'The cover says so!' Use the reasons
we have listed here on this chart. In ten minutes, your team will present
one of the books you chose to the class. Any questions?"
Do it (15 minutes). Assist the students as they
browse the books. Listen to their discussions and offer suggestions if
they seem stuck. Wrap up when most books have been brought to the tables,
then go around and have each table present a justification for the books
they selected.
Maggi Rohde, Library/Media Specialist
Allen Elementary School, Ann Arbor, MI
maggi@intranet.org
Fashion Show
The students decorate a paper bag in the form of a vest on the outside,
on the inside they write a summary of the book, and they write a notecard
to read when someone else models their vest. They tell what the objects
on the front represent and the their review of the book.
Alphabet sites
Bembo's Zoo: http://www.bemboszoo.com/
"A is for antelope, B is for Bison, C is for crab." An amazing
typographic adventure awaits you at Bembo's Zoo, as you watch each letter
of the alphabet transform into a wild animal right before your eyes and
ears. This Flash animation for all ages is based on the book of the same
name, by graphic artist Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich.
Learning Planet: Alphabet Action: http://www.learningplanet.com/act/fl/aact/index.asp
Point and click on each letter of the alphabet to hear its name, and see
a corresponding animated word. Many letters have additional pictures (C
is for car and cat) available by clicking on the small blue plus. For
five more alphabet and counting games, select Activities from the yellow
horizontal menu, then choose Preschool- K. These free games are a teaser
for the Learning Planet subscription service; games which are not clickable
are available only to paying subscribers.
Literacy Center: http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_en.htm
The Literacy Center uses a modified Montessori approach to teaching reading,
with a selection of four alphabet exercises, and five more for numbers,
colors, and shapes. After choosing between upper and lower-case, you can
click through the alphabet to see and hear each letter. Clicking on the
yellow and green triangles will toggle you in and out of two different
interactive activities.
Sesame Street Print and Play: http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/coloringpages/
When you're living on Sesame Street, B is for Bert and C is for Cookie
Monster. Each letter of this Sesame Street alphabet is linked to a black-and-white
picture to be printed (these are not interactive) and colored with crayons.
Scrolling down the page, you'll find dozens more, including printable
coloring activities with numbers, shapes and all your favorite Sesame
Street characters.
Academy Curricular Exchange Language Arts
Lessons Intermediate (6-8): http://ofcn.org/cyber.serv/academy/ace/lang/inter.html
This is the Columbia Education Center's Curriculum Exchange where teachers
can find a variety of lesson plans.
AskEric Lesson Plans: http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/lessons.cgi/Language_Arts
Lesson plans on a variety of subjects are found at this site.
The Children's Literature Web Guide: http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html
Links to many other websites, including commentaries on children's books,
book award winners from around the world, and ideas for parents, teachers,
and storytellers.
Oregon Authors Project: http://www.open.k12.or.us/ccp/authors/
Grade level reading tasks using various books and stories by Oregon authors
are included here. It is an easy to use site with a lot of information.
ACQWeb's Directory of Book Reviews on the Web: http://acqweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/acqweb/bookrev.html
Links to reviewing journals in most curriculum fields, including electronic
publications.
The Librarian's Guide to Cyberspace for Parents and Kids:
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/guide.html
Includes over 700 web sites for parents and kids.
Chris Brown's Virtual Reference Desk: http://www.virtualref.com/
This site is a reference librarian's subject list of links to useful websites.
Children's Book Council Online Publishers Page: http://www.cbcbooks.org/
This site carries author interviews and gives subject bibliography links
to many author/illustrator sites. It also lists books by topic.
The Multicultural Book Review Homepage: http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/homepage.html
At this site you can read reviews and submit your own reviews of multicultural
books.
SCORE Teacher Guide: Tuck Everlasting: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/tuck/tucktg.htm
TeacherView: Tuck Everlasting: http://www.eduplace.com/tview/tviews/t/tuckeverlasting.html
Pigs Space: Novel Studies: http://cspace.unb.ca/nbco/pigs/novel/
Tuck Everlasting: http://www.ocdsb.edu.on.ca/Teacher_Res/arts/integrated/tuck.htm
Betsy Byars, Author Study: http://www.carolhurst.com/authors/byars.html
Betsy Byars' Web Site: http://www.betsybyars.com
The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): http://dibels.uoregon.edu/ are a set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of pre-reading and early reading skills.
Book Report Alternatives
Ad Campaign- Your job is to design an ad campaign to promote your book.
Think of ideas for a cover, inside jacket, poster, window banner and display
cartoon. Sketch your ideas or put them together to form a window display.
Some of you may want to present your ideas in the form of a
60-second TV or radio commercial.
Adding- Add a chapter or incident to the story. You may include new characters,
new incidents or new settings.
Advertising- You work in the advertising department of a publisher. Your
job is to create an advertising display for the book. This display will
be set up in bookstores across the country. For your display, consider
using author photos, posters, dioramas, or cardboard display cases. Aging
Character- Pretend you are the major character at age sixty, tell about
your life as a young person and as an adult.
Alien Encounter- Pretend you have landed on another planet and you are
going to convince them the book you just read is a good one to read. How
would you do it? Remember they cannot speak the English language.
Author- Write a letter to the author about certain aspects of the book
you did not like. Site the book to back up what you say. Offer suggestions
for improvement.
Author Comparison- Compare this book to another written by the same author.
Author Research- Find out about the author; present a brief biography
of him and tell about his book. What else has he written?
Balloon- Blow up a balloon and decorate the sides of it so it tells about
the book you read.
Book Designer- You are a book designer, and the publisher wants to come
out with a new edition of the book. Design a new cover or book jacket,
and illustrate the first page of each chapter.
Box Design- Design a box (it can be square or 3-D). Put something about
the book on all sides of it. Cartoon Strip- Draw a cartoon strip of the
most important events in the story.
Character Construction- Use a 2-liter plastic bottle for the body (partially
filled with sand or pebbles to stay upright), a plastic foam ball for
the head and poster board for the feet and clothes. Explain why
you choose this character to design. Use lines from the book to back up
your character.
Character Conversation- Choose two characters from the story and write
about a conversation they might have.
Characters Meet- create a scene in which the main characters from TWO
novels meet.
Chinese Restaurant- You are out with the main characters from your book
at a Chinese restaurant. On this particular night, the fortune cookies
are amazingly appropriate. Describe each character and tell what his/her
fortune cookie said and why it is fitting. Do not forget to include yourself!
Clay Characters- make clay figures that go along with your book. Collage-
Use old magazines as a source for pictures which represent some event
of part of your book. Make a collage to show and explain your choices
to the group.
Compare/Contrast- Compare and contrast yourself with the main character
of the book.
Crossword Puzzle- Select 20 difficult words from the book and look up
their synonyms in a dictionary or thesaurus. Using these synonyms as well
as facts about the plot and characters, design a crossword puzzle.
Draw- Draw a mural depicting the major scenes from the book.
Descriptive Words- Find as many descriptive words as you can in one chapter
that are used for people or a place. Be sure to specify which.
Desert Island- Imagine you are stranded on a deserted island with an important
character from your book. Which one would you choose and why?
Detective Game- Make a detective game about the book you read. Give clues.
You may use page numbers, etc.
Diary- Pretend you are the main character and write several diary pages
describing an important event in the book.
Diorama- Make a diorama of an important happening in the book.
Ending- Make up a new ending for the book.
Epilogue- Write an epilogue to the story.
Felt Board Characters- Make a set of felt board characters and tell part
of the book with them. Highlight- For each chapter, pick a highlight or
point that you felt made that chapter exciting. Illustrate each highlight.
Historical Background- Present the historical background for this novel.
Hundred Year Test- Explain why you think this book will or will not be
read a hundred years from now. Support your opinion by stating specific
events from the story.
Greeting Card- Design an original greeting card(s) that your character
could send to a friend/foe/relative or someone else in the book.
Illustrations- Draw your own set of illustrations for the book.
Interior Decorator- Design a new home for the main characters in your
book.
Limerick- Write a limerick about your book.
Lost and Found- Make up a lost and found as for a person or object in
your book.
Main Character- Describe the main character in 150 words.
Main Character Design- Use butcher paper and make a life-size picture
of the main character of your book.
Map- Make an illustrated map showing a character's travels or the area
encompassed by your book. Mobile- Design and build a mobile that conveys
scenes, characters, or events from the book. Monologue- Prepare a monologue
from the story. Memorize it and present it to the class.
Movie Script- Write a movie script for one of the scenes in your book.
Act it out in front of the class with the help of other students.
Photos- Take photos which reflect your understanding of the novel.
Pictures- Bring in pictures, drawings, posters or objects that represent
some aspect of the novel. Poem- Make up a poem about your book.
Problem- Describe the problem or conflict existing for the main character
in the book. Tell how the conflict was or was not resolved.
Pulitzer Prize- Pretend you are one of the judges for the Pulitzer Prize
for Literature, an annual award honoring excellence in writing. Decide
whether you would nominate the book you have just read for such an award.
Then write a letter to the author explaining why you have accepted or
rejected his book to compete for such high honors.
Puppet- Create a puppet to represent your favorite character in the story.
Puzzle- Make a put-together puzzle. Make it in the shape of a main object
or character of the book. When put together it has on it the name of the
book and the author.
Questions- Write 10 question which could be used to test other students
understanding of the story. Make sure to include a list of answers.
Roll Story- Make a roll (like those you see on a cash register) and use
words and pictures to tell about your book. It will be told as they unroll
this.
Scrapbook- Make a scrapbook about the book.
Seed Mosaic- Make a seed mosaic to illustrate part of the book.
Setting- Research the geography of the setting of the novel.
Shoebox Picture Scene- Make a shoebox picture scene.
Song- Write a ballad or song about the characters and events in your story.
Set the words to the music of a popular song and sing it in class.
Stamp- Design a stamp that could be the crest or symbol to represent either
the book or the main character.
Television commercial- Make a television commercial about your book. Act
out the commercial for the class.
TV Talk Show- Interview a character for a TV talk show, creating questions
and answers consistent with the novel.
Timeline- Make a timeline of what happens during the book.
Title- Using the title of the book, write a phrase about the book for
each letter.
Travel Poster- Make a travel poster inviting tourists to visit the setting
of the book.
Turning Point- Pick out what you felt was the "turning
point" in the book. Write about the incidents that led the reader
to that point.
Word Power- Make a list of new, unusual or interesting
words or phrases found in your book.
Word Search- Select 20 difficult words from the book and
look up their
synonyms in a dictionary or thesaurus. Using these synonyms as well as
facts about the plot and characters and design a word search. (include
the
answer key!)
Write- Write your own story based on an idea you got from
the book.
Idioms/Figures of speech: http://www.essdack.org/tips/idiom.html
Lesson plan, including list of idioms
THE ART OF WRITING
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant: http://www.powa.org/
A comprehensive guide to writing nonfiction essays that includes activities
and exercises appropriate for high school students and above.
The Write Site: http://www.writesite.org/
This site was designed for middle school children and features some great
resources for student journalism.
Basic Guide to Essay Writing: http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/
The title says it all! This is a great introduction to basic essay writing.
It's in a format that is easy to follow. Good for middle school and above.
OWL Online Writing Lab: Research and Documenting Sources: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/
A list of handouts available related to research and the construction
of a bibliography available from the Purdue University English Department.
Writing Skills: http://www.infoplease.com/homework/writingskills1.html
This page at the Infoplease Homework Help section provides resources to
help student with all forms of nonfiction writing from elementary level
book reports to advanced essay writing.
Online Literacy: http://www.nexus.edu.au/teachstud/onlit/
This is an all around guide to language arts site that includes some excellent
information about writing presented in a fun, light hearted, and engaging
manner.
Writers Word: http://www.ellopos.net/education/studentland.htm
This collection of writings on writing will provide high-school aged beginning
writers with insights into the techniques and thinking of some of the
world's greatest authors.
Traci's List of 10 Creative Writing Experiences:
http://www.tengrrl.com/tens/017.shtml
Discover 10 creative activities to inspire creative writing in children
of all ages.
Creative Writing:
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Classroom/English/Reading_and_Writing/Creative
_Writing.html
Awesome Library offers links to lots of excellent creative writing resources,
including articles, lessons, and such tools as a dictionary and thesaurus.
Memaw's Creative Writing Corner: http://www.berkeleyprep.org/lower/fourth/writing/creative_writing_corner.htm
The creative writing activity ideas for elementary school teachers are
appropriate for home use as well.
Kids can submit their creative writing to one of these
sites and see their work published online:
Kids Writing Forum: http://www.geocities.com/kidswritingforum/
CyberKids: http://www.cyberkids.com/
Kid Pub: http://kidpub.org/kidpub/
Ask students to write a sentence
as a group. The kids get divided into groups of 4-5. The rules
are: They cannot talk. Each person adds one word
to the sentence. They can use only one piece of paper and one pencil and
it must be passed from one student to the next. The sentence must make
sense and come to an end. They have one minute to write their sentence.
You set the goal that you want the sentences to consistently get longer
with consequent tries. Lead the activity several times with the rule about
no talking. Then try one time allowing the groups to talk as they compose.
After the "game" is over you can discuss quite a few things.
You can talk about teamwork. It is usually not easier to make a longer
sentence when everyone talks but most of the time the sentence content
is better. You can discuss goals. Usually the kids attempt to make a silly
sentence.
You can talk about if there was anything that was said that suprised you.
The lesson comes from Tom Jackson. He has several books, "Activities
that Teach," "More Activities that Teach," and "Still
More Activities that Teach." He has many games that could be used
for lots of
issues. Quite a few are team building games.
Vocabulary, Free Puzzles and Activities:
: http://www.vocabulary.com/
Interactive activities by grade level
GREAT BOOKS FOR PRESCHOOLERS:
http://www.kidsource.com/hookedonphonics/great.books.html
http://www.infopeople.org/bpl/booklist/chickmoo.html
http://jmrl.org/children/booklists/presch.html
Here are a few lists to find recommended picture
and reading books for preschoolers, from new releases to the traditional
classics and modern favorites.
IDEAS FOR ENCOURAGING READERS: http://www.kidsource.com/hookedonphonics/index2.html
How do you set the pace for reading readiness at
an early age? Here are a number of suggestions to involve young children
in getting excited about reading.
READY, SET, READ: http://www.preksmarties.com/reading/reading11.htm
From infants through to preschoolers, this article
discusses tips for how to read to young students, as well as how to choose
appropriate books.
PLANTING THE SEEDS FOR EARLY READING: http://www.preksmarties.com/reading/reading6.htm
This author makes a case for teaching toddlers and
preschoolers the sounds of letters before letter identification as a pre-reading
tool.
SPELLING PRACTICE TECHNIQUES: http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang28.txt
Three separate activities get active about spelling
word lists, giving a whole new meaning to word practice and encouraging
all students to become better students.
THE FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY--REVISING, EDITING, AND EVALUATING:
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/1437/eval.html
Now that you have introduced your students to the
methods behind the five paragraph essays--and actually produced some promising
results--then get down to work on the revision and editing issues, a prime
concern and focus of work for all writers. Excellent guidelines and resources
here lead the way.
Crossword puzzle sites
Kids Crosswords and Other Puzzles: http://www.kidcrosswords.com/
Each of these educational puzzles for the elementary-school crowd
covers a different subject. The summer assortment of ten puzzles includes
Ancient China, First Aid, Pollution and Mountains. Most of these puzzles
are interactive crosswords, but some are word scrambles and word searches
designed for pen and paper.
New York Times Learning Network Crosswords: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/xwords/
Among crossword puzzle fans, the daily New York Times crosswords are
legendary. These Learning Network semi-monthly puzzles for students are
edited by the very same puzzlemaster, Will Shortz. Each puzzle has a theme
(such as Summer Safety) and both an interactive and printable version
of the crossword, as well as Web site recommendations for further learning.
Topics in the archive cover a wide range, with an emphasis on history
and science.
One Across: http://www.oneacross.com/
"Having trouble getting the last word in that puzzle? Having
trouble getting the first? See if our search engine can help! Unlike pure
pattern dictionary searches, we actually analyze the clue as well."
To use this tool, enter the exact clue and an answer pattern. For unknown
letters, use a question mark. For example, for clue "Cut" and
pattern "h???" you get the answer "hewn" along with
other lower rated answers such as "snip" and "sawn."
Puzzles by Puzzability: http://www.puzzability.com/puzzles/
These original interactive puzzles were created to showcase the talents
of a team of three puzzle experts, including the crossword editor of the
"Wall Street Journal." Among the daily and weekly puzzles you'll
find crosswords, word searches and brain teasers. "We like to point
out three ingredients you'll find in our puzzles: 1) A puzzle that is
left unsolved is basically a failure. Puzzles are made to be solved. 2)
Puzzles are not tests. They're entertainment. 3) A good puzzle is a bit
like a joke. The unsolved components are a set-up, and the solution is
the punch line."
Thinks.com: The World's First Crossword: http://thinks.com/crosswords/first1.htm
Although the origins of the crossword puzzle can be traced to nineteenth
century children's books, journalist Arthur Wynne is credited with creating
the first modern crossword puzzle. His Fun Word-Cross appeared in "New
York World" on December 21, 1913. Follow the link at the bottom of
the article to see it. Notice how only the starting and ending squares
have numbers, and the clues are numbered the same way. Continue on to
Crosswords Index for the Thinks.com archive of puzzles, and a compendium
of software you can use to create your own crossword puzzles.
Free books online
Blackmask Online - http://www.blackmask.com/page.php
Read books on line free with Acrobat Reader.
Index of eTexts: http://www.infomotions.com/etexts/
DRAMATIC PLAY CENTER IDEAS: http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/drama8.html
What kind of items and activities can you place
in centers to encourage dramatic play? This site offers
a whole list of possible suggestions.
FISH COLOR WORDS PRINTABLE: http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag52.html
Reinforce color words for kindergarten and first
grade students with this appealing printable. Students must color each
fish according to the color word printed below it.
THIRD GRADE VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/CompactforReading/table3.html
Fully one hundred vocabulary activities are included
in these pages, all appropriate for 3rd grade vocabulary instruction and
reinforcement. You can download this file and print out most of these
worksheets for homework enrichment, or use them for class exercises.
SPELLING AND VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES: http://www.teachersdesk.org/spell_plans.html
Inject a whole lot of sparkle into your everyday
spelling and vocabulary lessons with the ideas and activities offered
at this site. Students will respond well to the game playing and creative
aspects of these active exercises as a break from the usual pencil and
paper drills.
REFERENCE BOOK ACTIVITIES AND WORKSHEETS: http://home.att.net/%7Eteaching/refbook.htm
In order to introduce and/or practice reference
skills with your 4th graders, this site offers several appropriate learning
exercises. Most templates are included for various lessons, including
guide words gameboards, climate comparisons, historical timeline masters,
cooperative learning weekly plans, individual grade logs, grammar practice
worksheets, flip-flop book templates, scrabble championship forms, energy
investigation booklets.
BOOK REPORT RECIPE: http://www.teachersdesk.org/readreport.html
Try this alternative book report, in recipe formula,
for a fresh change of pace. All the usual ingredients
for reviewing books are still included. These cards would make a nice
introductory back-to-school exercise and bulletin board display--students
can illustrate their cards and report a recipe on a special
book they read over the summer.
DICTIONARY SKILLS WORKSHEET:
http://worksheets.teach-nology.com/critical_thinking/dictionary/
Selected vocabulary lists for upper elementary students
will help focus and practice dictionary use
skills, and expand students' vocabulary usage as well.
USING NEWSPAPERS IN THE CLASSROOM: http://www.teachersdesk.org/news.html
Find classroom activities using your local newspapers
for parts of speech, outlining, sequencing, reporting, inference, locating
specific information, discerning fact and opinion, and more.
INDEX AND TABLE OF CONTENTS WORKSHEETS:
http://worksheets.teach-nology.com/research/book/
These worksheets introduce students to locating
parts of a book through the index and table of contents. Three relevant
student worksheets are included.
WORD SAFARI VOCABULARY EXPEDITIONS: http://home.earthlink.net/~ruthpett/safari/index.htm
What's in a word? Your students will have a chance
to be word sleuths as they track down how writers use their chosen words.
The word choices are challenging but not above high school level, and
will certainly sharpen vocabulary skills.
EIGHTH GRADE LANGUAGE UNIT WORKSHEETS:
http://worksheets.teach-nology.com/language_arts/vocab/eight/
Choices for eighth grade worksheets include cryptograms,
vocabulary quizzes, word scrambles, word
searches, and missing letters. Use these worksheets for ready-made homework
activities to reinforce
classroom learning.
Teacher's Depot: http://www.lindecrawford.net
literature units, author information, and themes
Kidspired Tales 2002: http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~ptk1nc/kidspired2002/
Kidspired Tales 2002 is a Collaborative Internet Project for K-2 students.
The objective of this
project is to help teachers develop new literacies into their content
area instruction.
Flat Stanley website: http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/
This is primarily an elementary school project in which
students read the book Flat Stanley--a tale of a boy who gets flattened
by his bulletin board. His parents discover that he can now be mailed
to friends in California instead of the more expensive way of traveling.
You can sign up to be a receiver of Flat Stanleys from other students,
or you can send Flat Stanley out on a journey. The recipients of the Flat
Stanley (a paper figure) then write a letter back describing what Stanley
did while he was visiting. There are directions and suggestions for using
Flat Stanley. There is also a template for Flat Stanely and interactive
games on the site (unrelated to Flat Stanley).
Have students study the editorial page of the newspapers--looking at elements common to letters that get published. Then have then choose an issue and write/type a letter to the editor. Then send them.
Writing Traits: http://www.nwrel.org/nwreport/mar02/complete.html
The traits are ideas and content, organization,
voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and last - conventions (spelling,
punctuation, grammar, paragraphing). Your job is to provide daily writing
time,
mini-lessons to maximize focus on what trait you're working on as a whole
class, countless examples of successful writing (lots of books around)
and a model of this valuable time spent gathering ideas,
writing a first draft, revising, editing, presenting and sharing a final
copy. It's part of the daily schedule, a set time to write.
TIPS FOR TEACHING THE SOUNDS OF WORDS: http://pbskids.org/lions/kguide/sounds_tips.html
The tips listed here are specifically written for
kindergarten teachers, to help develop phonics skills for
young emergent readers. An interactive game is also included.
WORD WORMS: http://pbskids.org/lions/printables/games/worms.html
Four printable word sheets form the foundation for this reading and vocabulary
game. Use your word worms as creative starters for short story writing
exercises, or incorporate your spelling and vocabulary words into the
game.
A list of titles and authors of books set
to music.
A You're Adorable byMartha Alexander
Baby Beluga by Raffi
The Cat Came Back by Bill Slavin
Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak
Clifford We Love You by Norman Bridwell
Down By the Bay by Raffi
Down By the Station by Hillerbrand
Everything Grows by Raffi
Five Little Ducks by Raffi
Frog Went a Courtin' by John Langstaff
Give the Dog a Bone by Steven Kellogg
The Hokey Pokey by Laprise, Macak, and Baker
How Much is That Doggy by Trapan
I Know an Old Lady by Nadine Westcott
I'm a Little Teapot by Iza Tripani
I've Been Working on the Railroad by Nadine Westcott
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Tripani
The Lady With the Alligator Purse by Nadine Westcott
The Little Drummer Boy by Ezra Jack Keats
Little Rabbit Foo Foo by Michael Rosen, Michael
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Iza Tripani
Mary Wore Her Red Dress by Merle Peek
My Favorite Things by Renee Graef
Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? by Iza Tripani
Oh, a Hunting We Will Go by John Langstaff
On Top of Spaghetti by Katherine Tillotson
One By One: Garth Pig's Rain Song by Mary Rayner
One Light, One Sun by Raffi
Over in the Meadow by Paul Galdone
Over the River and through the Wood by Lydia Child
Peanut Butter and Jelly by Nadine Westcott
Pizza Pokey by Jeffrey Stoodt
Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi
Shoo Fly by Trapan
Skip to My Lou by Nadine Westcott
Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Jack Norworth
The Thirteen Days of Halloween by Carol Greene
The Twelve Days of Christmas: A Song Rebus Emily Bolam, illustrator
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Slimms Taback
Tingalayo by Raffi
Today is Monday by Eric Carle
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by Iza Tripani
Wheels on the Bus by Raffi
What a Wonderful World by Bob Thiele
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
Justin's Drama and Theatre Links: http://www.theatrelinks.com/
Justin Cash of Australia has created a mammoth directory of theatre links
including: history, practitioners, genres, styles, online plays, playwrights,
classroom resources, education institutions, arts organizations, set/lighting/costume
designs and more. As with any hotlist, teachers of younger students should
always check links for suitability before having students access them.
Grade Level: Middle School, High School, College,
Adult/Professional
Content Area: Arts (Performing Arts), Community Interest (Leisure)
13 EXCITING READING ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN:
http://www.cbcbooks.org/html/13excotomg.html
Shore up enthusiam for a reading program with the suggestions here. Competitions,
comparisons, and awards all make reading exciting.
DISCOVERING MARC BROWN: http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa/elit/el/arthurless.htm
Second grade students will examine two novels
by Marc Brown, with an eye especially to character traits. They will make
comparisons using a Venn diagram worksheet, and fill in a worksheet chart
on what they learned about Brown's characters. Three websites provide
the online resources.
HOW TO START A WRITER'S WORKSHOP: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/681.html
If you need help setting up an elementary writer's
workshop in your classroom, this site provides an outline, guided steps
for the process, and notes for the teacher's role.
LITERACY CENTERS FOR KINDERGARTEN: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/469.html
Kindergarten students can partner up or work independently
to work in literacy centers. Here are several good suggestions for activities.
WORD WALL ROUTINE: http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/word_wall_routine.htm
Working within the four blocks literacy framework,
word walls have established a solid footing in elementary classrooms.
Here are some suggestions on how to use them to your best advantage, with
further extension activities.
ALPHABET CUTOUTS: http://pbskids.org/lions/printables/games/alphabet_uc.html
Simple alphabet cards can be downloaded and printed
here to cut and use for phonics lessons in your emergent reader classes.
DIALECTICAL JOURNAL PRINTABLE: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/sdia.htm
Use this template to print out pages for a dialectical
reading journal for your students.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm
Here is a whole selection of various graphic organizers
you can use throughout your school year. Find an Interaction Outline,
and Anticipation/Reaction Guide, Chain of Events, Compare and Contrast,
and the usual Venn diagrams, amongst other choices.
READING PICNIC: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/299.html
Encourage both reading and early book report skills
with this lesson activity. Your class will keep nightly reading records,
and then one day per month, plan a reading picnic, sharing books and snacks
in a structured manner.
THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/708.html
Using two popular children's books, "The Three
Little Pigs" and "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by
A. Wolf", your students will learn how to use Venn diagrams in comparing
the similarities and differences between the two stories.
LITERACY HOUR ACTIVITIES: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/wordsandpictures/clusters/print/index.shtml
Here are some great printable activity sheets for
literacy centers or, as suggested here, literacy hour. Scrapbooks, phonemes,
poems, consonant clusters, cluster buster games, and final sound pyramid
games are all showcased.
WORD WALL LISTS: http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/word_wall_grade_level_lists.htm
For kindergarten through third grade, find weekly
lists to use for your classroom word walls. The site suggests printing
each batch on different colored card stock, and includes those categories
as well.
WORD WHEELS: http://library.thinkquest.org/50027/PhonicsPhun/WordWheel/index.html
Students will begin to recognize patterns in words
as they construct their word wheels. Both rhyming endings and phonogram
families are used to focus on visualizing patterns.
MAKING WORDS: http://teams.lacoe.edu/village/ideas/letters.html
Use this cardboard letters and pocket chart activity
along with your word walls or your reading selection vocabulary lists.
The final challenge is to make a word using all of the letters from the
templates.
I AM AN AUTHOR: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/795.html
Involve families in the art of writing and your
students' efforts. Each student becomes a guest author of the week during
the school year, during which time they take a book bag of assorted items
and options home to respond to with their families.
THE CHEESEBURGER PARAGRAPH: http://www.gigglepotz.com/para.htm
Students will construct a messy cheeseburger--without
a Bun--as a visual aid to learning how to also construct a paragraph.
Topic, concluding, and supporting sentences become evident and logical
as related to the cheeseburger model.
LITERATURE LOGS: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/49.html
Literature logs or journals can help students focus
and refine the concepts and vocabulary they are covering in a class novel.
The journals also help to prepare students for book report writing. This
activity provides suggestions to follow through with student responses
on class reading for each day of the week.
LITERARY REPORT CARDS: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/tlitcar.htm
Students will better analyze character traits when
they have to develop criteria for analysis, and then assign those characters
a report card grade.
MMSD: Language Arts Professional Resources: http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/langarts/mosaic.htm
Mosaic Of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop
by Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann is a book that has many strategies
for teaching reading comprehension. They are summarized nicely on this
site.
Picture BINGO: http://www.northcoast.com/%7Ehope/bingo4.txt
"To help students to associate pictures with words.
To associate first letters of words with the words."
Reading Aloud to Children: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/teachingouryoungest/reading.html
STORY TIME PREPARATION: http://www.kinderart.com/littles/storysongs.shtml
With a little help from an active song, you should
be able to have your preschoolers ready and willing
to sit still and listen at storytime.
READING AND WRITING PLAY MATERIALS: http://www.ed.gov/Family/RSRforCaregvr/reading.html
You can never start too early to foster a deep love
of reading and to encourage pre-writing skills.
The activities and environments targeted in this article address several
ways of developing appreciation and curiosity for both reading and writing.
Basic Handwriting: http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/
Learning Page.com: http://www.learningpage.com
You can print practice worksheets in Zaner-Blozer, D'Nealian, and cursive.
Select basic sheets from the menu. You need to become a member in order
to print all of the worksheets, but membership is free.
The Seventh Tower series
by Garth Nix: http://www.theseventhtower.com/
There is not an ending until you read through the 6th book in the series.
They are quite suspenseful but easy to read. The story takes places in
the future and the scenes change between 3 worlds.
Lemony Snicket sites
Kidsreads.com: A Series of Unfortunate Events:
http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-lemony-snicket-author.asp
Start your Lemony Snicket adventure with four short video clips narrated
by Daniel Handler (an "associate" of Mr. Snicket) urging you
not to read "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and to keep the
books out of the hands of children. You'll also enjoy the character sketches
of Violet, Klaus, Sonny and Count Olaf written by Snicket himself, and
his answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Lemony Snicket: http://www.lemonysnicket.com/
"Attention: please run for your life. You have undoubtedly reached
this Web site by mistake." Yet with an introduction such as this,
we are quite positive we have reached the absolutely right place: the
official Lemony Snicket site. If you persevere past all the warnings,
you'll find excerpts from each of the books, a free screensaver, an author
bio, a bio of illustrator Brett Helquist, and a handful of games. Week
after week I recommend word search puzzles, but the Count Olaf Word Search
is the one word search puzzle you should never see. Do not click there.
Ever. I mean it.
Quidditch.com: Lemony Snicket: http://www.quidditch.com/lemony%20snicket.htm
What is Lemony Snicket's real name? Who is Beatrice? The answer to the
first question is Daniel Handler. The answer to the second question may
be found here, where the folks at Quidditch.com explore the many literary
and cultural references found in "A Series of Unfortunate Events."
Great fun for those wanting to learn more about Dante, Edgar Allen Poe,
George Orwell, F. Scott Fitzgerald and other famous folks.
Time for Kids: Lemony Snicket, Author: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/explore/story/0,6079,249604,00.html
"The mysterious writer of "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
confesses all to TFK kid reporter Laura Winters." Learn about the
Nickelodeon films based on the gloomy book series, what books Daniel Handler
loved as a child, and the author's advice for would-be writers. Read the
interviewer's bio (she's nine) and her other Time for Kids articles by
following the Laura Winters link at the bottom of the page.
Unfortunate Events: http://www.unfortunateevents.com
Join the hunt for Lemony Snicket by registering with your email address
and choosing a user name. The hunt (created by Egmont Books, the British
publisher of the Snicket series) is a collection of Flash arcade games,
with high scores saved and posted. In addition to the games, you'll find
book synopsis for the first five books listed under The Terrible Story
and postcards to share with friends at Lemony Widgets.
100 PICTURE BOOKS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW: http://www.nypl.org/branch/kids/gloria.html
Challenge your class to read these honored books in home and in class.
You can keep a class chart to check off when you have read each book,
and have a celebration when you complete them all. Make bookmarks with
each of your students' pictures glued on to kick off your efforts.
NURSERY RHYME CARDS:
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/rimes_and_rhymes.htm#Seventy_One
To encourage both the school-home connection, as well as the positive
influences of families reading together, this site offers more than seventy
illustrated nursery rhymes to print as cards and send home with students.
They can also be used in the classroom, collected, reviewed, and sent
home as a little book.
READING AND WRITING PLAY MATERIALS: http://www.ed.gov/Family/RSRforCaregvr/reading.html
Create a center in your preschool classroom just
for reading development and explorations. The suggestions here will help
you get started.
SHOW THEM WORDS:
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/01_PreK_ShowWords.pdf
Prepare a foundation for reading success by exploring
the printed word with preschoolers. Students will recognize printed forms
all around them, and then become familiar with how their name looks in
print. They will practice writing their names, and develop handeye coordination
and fine muscle control. Art activities are combined with alphabet awareness
and mastery.
A BOOK A WEEK INSTRUCTION PLANS:
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/wil/classroom_instruction.htm#Weekly_Instruction
Here is an extensive supply of lesson plans to accompany
young children's literature. Each book listed
supplies activities for further exploration of the characters and themes
developed in the reading mat-
erial. A reading guide for October through April recommends seasonally
appropriate books, with all the favorites included.
Access Excellence mystery spot: http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/mspot/
Nothing hits the spot like a good mystery, and the Mystery Spot is the
spot for mysteries. Each mystery provides background information, an engaging
storyline, and pertinent scientific data to
help would-be detectives solve the problem. Grades: 9 - 12
ALPHABET COLORING PAGES: http://www.everythingpreschool.com/coloringpages/alphabet/index.htm
Find two choices to download and print at this site.
The first choice offers letters with various animals
and plants drawn into the letter itself--all of which begin with that
letter. Your second alphabet selection is more for recognition skills,
with bubbles drawn all over.
ALPHABET GAMES: http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/122.html
Games like "Swat!", listed here, are particularly
effective for getting young children to learn their
alphabet or numbers. Also find suggestions for matching games, fill in
missing letters, and painting with water on the blackboard.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://wikipedia.com/
Readability: http://www.timetabler.com/reading.html
"This article outlines the subject of readability, and its relevance
to school books.
The 4 main sections of the article are:
1. The effect of interest and motivation.
2. Legibility, including type, layout and reading conditions.
3. Sentence structure, including readability formulae.
4. Reading ages for school textbooks, especially in science."
ALA's Booklist: Books for Youth: http://www.ala.org/booklist/v98/
002.html
CA DOE: Recommended Literature: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/literature/
Center for the Book in the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/
Reading Pathfinder: http://readingpath.org
RIF Reading Planet: http://www.rifreadingplanet.org/rif/
RIF Reading Planet is the place where kids and families come together
to explore the world of books through interactive games, fun activities,
online book reviews, and informative articles.
VOCABULARY GAME: http://www7.funbrain.com/cgi-bin/vo.cgi?A1=s&A2=tool&INSTRUCTS=1
Increase second grade student vocabulary with this online game. This
particular set develops words associated with tools. If your student does
not know the item, teach them the process of elimination to try to attain
the answer--a useful skill for test taking.
WEB SITE TRAIL: http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/projects/yep/wst.html
This template for student research makes sure students
keep a good record of sites visited, with a space for the URL and a short
description of the site. The forms would also prove useful for "forgetful"
students, who might have a bit of trouble remembering where they left
off.
VIRTUAL PRESENTATION ASSISTANT: http://www.ukans.edu/cwis/units/coms2/vpa/vpa.htm
If public speaking is on your high school curriculum,
then try these tutorials for helping students give their presentations.
Contents include choosing your subject--with links to media and references
online, analyzing your audience, outlining your points, using visual aids,
and all other points of public speaking. Sample audio selections are included--try
Great Speeches of the 20th Century for inspiration.
COLOR CODE WRITING: http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang18.txt
For students who may still be having some difficulty
in forming written letters or numbers, try this color coding technique.
The four primary colors are used for each letter formation, starting with
green for "go" and ending in red for "stop".
VOCABULARY BUILDING FOR PRIMARY STUDENTS:
http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang13.txt
Webbing and mapping exercises use nursery rhymes
and class books to brainstorm and classify word groups. This is a cooperative
learning exercise to promote both vocabulary fortification and group efforts,
for grades one through three.
TALKING CHIPS: http://204.184.214.251/coop/kgrade/k2.html
Through an interactive method of teamwork and submitting
game chips to contribute to class work, students will practice not only
sentence comprehension but also become aware of the logistics of cooperative
efforts and consideration for others.
WORD SORT: http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/SCORE/Phonics_Link/lessons/wordsort.html
Emergent readers will strengthen skills in sound
pattern recognition and reading by sorting patterns
into specific pockets while working with partners. This is a whole class
activity, and can be used in
tandem with any book the class is presently studying.
123 READING ROAD: http://library.thinkquest.org/50027/AlphabetSoup/index.html
Practice alphabet recognition and sounds through
a multitude of online and printable activities available from this Thinkquest
site for emergent readers. From flash cards, to alphabet games, to connecting
the dots or letter match printables, it offers a host of classroom resources.
Then, specifically for
the educator, find assessments and rubrics, as well as professional related
articles all categorized here.
READING COMPREHENSION: http://abcteach.com/directory/reading_comprehension/
Reading comprehension stories are downloadable in
pdf files for printing or reading online. Comprehension exercises follow,
along with printable tests as well. Select your grade level, from PreK
through high school, and then choose selections from categories such as
fiction, non-fiction, or holiday/seasonal. This resource is great for
pre-testing drills, homework assignments, or supplemental classroom reading
and comprehension practice. It can also be used to develop listening skills
if you read selections aloud to your entire class, and then ask specific
related questions after.
BUSY AS A BEE -- WORKING WITH SIMILES; http://www.col-ed.org/cur/lang/lang42.txt
This lesson plan can be used with or without the
suggested book to reinforce the concept of similes. Rather in the fashion
of the ever-popular "mad libs", students will, unknowingly to
each other, compose subjects, similes, and descriptive phrases. When read
aloud, the results will be quite humorous, but they will nevertheless
fully demonstrate how similes are used in writing.
PREPOSITION BOOGIE:
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAPrepositionalPhrases-PrepositionBoogie46.htm
Two excellent exercises emphatically teach students
the definition of a preposition, and prepositional
phrases. Students will physically follow spatial commands for the first
exercise; look for loads of fun
with this one. They will then recreate their bedroom by filling in the
blanks of a template for a descriptive paragraph, and students will have