English Language Arts — Grade 1

What do you see?

This lesson is designed to teach color vocabulary and some basic animal names to novice level ESL students in grades 1-2 using Bill Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?

Format: lesson plan (grade 1–2 English Language Arts)

By Cindy Young.

Oh, the places I will go!

Students will listen to the story by Dr. Seuss Oh, the Places You'll Go! The students will brainstorm a list of places they would like to go. Places such as nouns and proper nouns will be separated during the listing process. The students will write a response to: "Oh, the places I will go! I will go____________." and illustrate their responses. Each student response will be collected for a class book entitled "Oh, the Places We Will Go!"

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)

Hear it, spell it, see it!

This is an activity to help children develop visual recognition of basic sight word vocabulary at the kindergarten level. The words covered are: I, am, can, like, it, and is. This is a simple, quick activity that adds a new dimension to sight word building with the help of the computer.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)

By Vickie Hedrick.

Going batty: Part II

Students will apply the knowledge they've gained about bats to create bat poetry.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Computer/Technology Skills and English Language Arts)

By DPI Integration Strategies.

Describing words: Go Away, Big Green Monster

The students will use describing words in their writing based on the book Go Away, Big Green Monster while integrating math concepts about shapes.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts and Mathematics)

By Paula Jennings.

Arctic animals

This is a whole language lesson for Speech Language Pathologists incorporating listening comprehension, categorizing, following verbal directions, and basic vocabulary and language concepts for First grade students.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts and Science)

By Susan Ayers.

A'planting we will go

This lesson is based on the book, The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle. This story will be used to introduce the children to the concept that seeds change and grow into plants when conditions in the environment including temperature, light, water and soil are appropriate. Children will learn that plants produce seeds that can become new plants. Through extended activities, the children will experience first-hand the germination of seeds. They will become familiar with the parts of a plant and learn how each part works to produce a healthy plant.

Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts, English Language Development, and Science)

By Karol Schriber.

Resources on the web

Using a predictable text to teach high-frequency words

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students develop fluency as they participate in a choral reading of the predictable text. After reading the story, students construct sentences using the words found in the predictable text. Students then have the opportunity... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Teaching audience through interactive writing

This ReadWriteThink lesson supports young writers in learning about audience. Through interactive writing, students work together to create an invitation letter for a group of their peers. In addition, students work independently to create invitation letters... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Shared poetry reading: Teaching print concepts, rhyme, and vocabulary

Students study vocabulary, one-to-one matching, left-to-right directionality, and awareness of rhyme in reading using a shared exploration of a poem that includes peer interaction, hands-on experience with print, and a collaborative examination of new and... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Integrating Language Arts Using "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"

This lesson from ReadWriteThink uses Laura Joffe Numeroff's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to combine word-skill work with prediction and sequencing practice. Students learn about cause-effect relationships during a shared reading of the book.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Gingerbread Phonics

In this ReadWriteThinklesson, early readers use familiar words from a traditional story to learn letter-sound correspondence. The teacher conducts a shared reading of The Gingerbread Man with the whole class. Students then use words from the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Ferocious fighting fish: An ocean unit exploring beginning word sounds

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students focus on alliteration while exploring an ocean theme. Students explore alliteration in framing texts then compose a class book to practice using the technique in their own writing. The lesson is a natural extension... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Draw a math story: From the concrete to the symbolic

This ReadWriteThink activity begins with the reading aloud of several math-oriented stories, identifies key mathematical vocabulary terms, models math story writing, and then gives students an opportunity to write addition and subtraction stories. Students... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts and Mathematics)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Composing Cinquain Poems: A Quick-Writing Activity

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students write simple cinquain poetry of their own as a follow-up to a subject they have been exploring in class. Cinquain (pronounced “cin-kain”) is a five-line poetic form, using a wavelike syllable count... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Action ABC's: Learning vocabulary with verbs

In this lesson that reviews the definition of a verb, teachers engage students in introductory game that activates prior knowledge about parts of speech. Students work in collaborative groups to make lists of verbs that begin with each letter from the alphabet.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–1 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

3, 2, 1...Blast off! Vocabulary instruction using a virtual trip to the moon

Students begin this lesson by activating prior knowledge about the moon through an initial writing activity. After the teacher has posted all ideas, students are engaged in discussions, read-alouds, and the creation of a picture dictionary that shows the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink