English Language Arts — Kindergarten

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New takes on old tales

In this Xpeditions activity, students revamp a classic fairy tale so that it takes place in today's world. Related activities for parents to do with their children are also found on this page. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–7 English Language Arts)

Provided by: Xpeditions

Making a rainstick

In this lesson from ARTSEDGE, students learn about the history of the musical instrument called a rainstick. They experience rain and create a poem about their feelings and thoughts in the rain. Next, they read a story involving rainsticks, derived from... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 2 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Mail time! An integrated postcard and geography study

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students write to friends and family asking them to send picture postcards. This activity provides motivation for writing and reading and provides a wonderful opportunity to learn about maps as students discover where... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Launching family message journals

This lesson from ReadWriteThink introduces Family Message Journals, a tool for encouraging family involvement and supporting writing to reflect and learn. First and second graders are led into composing through demonstration, guided writing, and finally... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

A journal for Corduroy: Responding to literature

This lesson from ReadWriteThink leads first-grade students to reflect on and respond to literature through journal writing. Students read books in the Corduroy series and interact with a stuffed bear to personalize their experiences. They also record their... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

It's okay to be different: Teaching diversity with Todd Parr

After a shared reading of Todd Parr's It's Okay to Be Different, students work in small groups to discuss and write down what makes them diverse. The teacher introduces the topic of diversity by engaging students in an activity... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 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

A Getting-Acquainted Activity Using "My Teacher's Secret Life"

In this ReadWriteThink activity, students listen to My Teacher's Secret Life, discuss the content, and make predictions about what the teacher and their peers do when they are away from school. The students will readily join in the discussion... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Get Writing with "Weekend News!"

In this lesson, from ReadWriteThink, students write about their weekends, using skills they have learned in writing workshop. Following the writing, students self-assess their work based on criteria developed in the classroom. (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

From fact to fiction: Drawing and writing stories

Getting children to use their imaginations when writing a story can sometimes be difficult. Drawing, however, can create a bridge between the ideas in a child's head and the blank piece of paper on the desk. In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students use factual... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 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

Family message journals teach many purposes for writing

This lesson from ReadWriteThink describes the use of Family Message Journals. Family Message Journals are tools for learning, thinking, and self-expression. By writing several messages with varied purposes, students begin to experience that journal writing... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–2 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

Dr. Seuss's sound words: Playing with phonics and spelling

Boom! Br-r-ring! Cluck! Moo! — Everywhere you turn, you're bound to find exciting sounds. Whether you visit online sites that play sounds or take a sound hike at school, a near-by park, or on a field trip, ask your students to notice the sounds they... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Creating question and answer books through guided research

This ReadWriteThink lesson focuses on a “learn by doing” series of reading and writing activities designed to teach research strategies. The activity uses KWL charts and interactive writing as key components of organizing information. One topic... (Learn more)

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

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

Completing the circle: The craft of circular plot structure

In this lesson, from ReadWriteThink, students explore the organizing structure and writer's craft of picture books. They then identify, explore, and apply the elements of circle plot structures to their own stories. This lesson uses an interactive Circle... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Comparing fiction and nonfiction with "Little Red Riding Hood" text sets

This lesson plan features an example of a cumulative literary experience or “literature unit” structured around a text set made up of conceptually-related fiction and nonfiction for reading aloud and for independent reading. Students... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Collaborating on a class book: Exploring before-during-after sequences

In this ReadWriteThink classroom project, students and the teacher produce a class book through a group-writing activity focusing on a basic before-during-after sequence of events. In this case, the book focuses on the carving of the class jack-o-lantern,... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

The big green monster teaches phonics in reading and writing

In this lesson from ReadWriteThink students begin with a shared reading of the story, Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley. After the shared reading, students engage in a paired reading of the online version to build fluency and word... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink