What makes a story, a story? In this lesson, students examine the elements of stories. They learn to use pre-planning strategies to set their own stories up for success... before they even start writing!

This reading and writing lesson also helps students develop empathy. After paying attention to the main character's responses in Victoria and Elizabeth Kann's Purplelicious, students will relate her experiences to their own.

Mae Jemison was the first African American female astronaut to enter space! Use the Who Is Mae Jemison? lesson plan to get to know this prominent scientist and entrepreneur. Students will read about Mae and then answer questions about her.

In this lesson, you will use “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to teach students about the butterfly life cycle. After listening to the story read aloud, students will use their knowledge to create their own butterfly life cycles!

Give your students a conceptual understanding of three-digit addition with this lesson focused on base-ten blocks and drawings.

Lights, camera, action (verbs)! After examining different action verbs, students put them to use when writing their own movie scenes.

Ask an important question this month: What does an activist do? This engaging lesson can be used leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. Day (and year-round). It supports students in understanding what it means to be an activist and how Martin Luther King Jr. used collaborative action to change the world and speak out against oppression. Perfect for first graders and second graders, this activity explores word meaning and other reading and writing skills.