LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

From the education reference

story map
Graphic organizer that allows students to detail important elements of a story, including characters, plot, action, and setting.
spider map
A graphic organizer used to describe the attributes and functions of a central idea or theme. Each central theme has four or more branches to organize details, resembling a spider.
concept map
An organizational strategy or tool that represents knowledge in visual form (such as a graph or diagram). Concept mapping facilitates student understanding of the relationships between keywords or concepts through visual representations.

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Kindergarten walk
This is an introductory lesson in a series of lessons on our community and community helpers. Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins will be used as the pattern to plan our own walk around our school playground. Students will then create a simple map of our school playground.
Format: lesson plan (grade K Mathematics and Social Studies)
By Michelle Hensley.
Pigs and wolf on a map!
The students will construct a Double Bubble Map (Venn Diagram) to compare and contrast two versions of a familiar fairytale.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)
By Cherry Randall.
Is Mr. Wolf really a bad guy?
This lesson is intended to show children the importance of evaluating information as they read. The author's point of view is limited in that it only truly shows one side of the story. There is always another perspective. How the author views a subject colors everything that he or she writes about.
Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts)
The very hungry teacher
After reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle students will use the writing process to write their own version of a Very Hungry story. They will use a flow map for pre-writing. Students will write a rough draft that will be revised and edited with a partner and a teacher.
Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)
By Kelly Zumwalt.
The Farm Concert
This lesson teaches basic print awareness along with animal names and sounds through guided reading and the use of a graphic organizer.
Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)
By Kelly Brandon.
Exciting narrative endings
This lesson emphasizes the importance of a strong ending for a narrative essay and teaches students specific items to include in their endings.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)
By Ann Jolly.
"Twas the Night Before Christmas": Retelling through thinking maps
After reading and discussing “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” students will work together to create a Flow Map. Each student will then use the map they created individually to retell the story in his/her own words.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2 English Language Arts)
By Amy Rhyne, Paulette Keys, and Sarah Carson.
Writing with Koala Lou: Sequencing and BME
After reading the story Koala Lou aloud, students practice sequencing the events of the story and identifying the beginning, middle, and end. Upon completing this activity in cooperative groups they write using a teacher given prompt, including proper sequence and beginning, middle, and end. They also share the final product with their cooperative group.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 English Language Arts)
By Jenifer Lewis.
Bugs, bugs, bugs
This lesson integrates writing and the study of insects by creating an innovation to the text of the book How Many Bugs in a Box? by David A. Carter
Format: lesson plan (grade 1 Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science)
By Vicki Rivenbark.
Guess The Genre!
Students apply knowledge of genres to identify different genres from "reading-alouds of excerpts" from selected books representing different genres.
Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Information Skills)
By Ann Jenkins.
Walking in the woods with Owl Moon
This is an integrated project using the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. Students will use the story to write a personal narrative, understand the elements of a story, and practice answering open-ended questions.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts)
By Birty Lightner.
Tacky the Penguin
After reading the story, Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester, the students will write their own Tacky story. The students will brainstorm ideas before getting started. Next each student will write a rough draft. After the rough draft, the students will proofread and edit their work. Then the students will type their story and illustrate the pictures.
Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)
By Tonya Williams.
A Birthday Basket For Tia
This lesson will provide your students with an opportunity to brainstorm, predict, and check for understanding throughout this wonderful story about a little girl, Cecilia, who is preparing a special birthday gift for her 90 year-old Aunt Tia. Cecilia collects objects that represent her favorite memories with her aunt. Many uses of technology are suggested to integrate math and science with language and reading.
Format: lesson plan (grade K English Language Arts)
By Jenny Walters.
Story map: The gingerbread manhunt
The purpose of this lesson is to present a fun, memorable way for children to learn where the secretary, principal, nurse, janitor, cafeteria, playground, and other grade levels are located while matching a face and job with each of these locations and its importance to the functioning of the school.
Format: lesson plan (grade K Social Studies)
By Tina Baker.
Three Little Kittens
Students will experience the joys of acting out the story using simple props. Students will enjoy eating pie, and completing a bubble map and class graph.
Format: lesson plan (grade K English Language Arts and Mathematics)
By Amanda Mcalpine, Carol Elliott, and Ginny Devine.
Apples on parade
Children will discover the different varieties of apples after listening to a selected story by describing likenesses and differences of apples, sorting apples, graphing apples, eating apples, and creating apple star trees. This unit can be extended to allow children to cook with apples.
Format: lesson plan (grade K Mathematics)
By Nancy Haley.
The Red-eyed Tree Frog and Hyperstudio
Students will read The Red-eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley then plan and put together a Hyperstudio which retells the story.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2 Computer/Technology Skills and English Language Arts)
By Jody Shaughnessy.
Bubba: A Cinderella story
This lesson focuses on the whimsical interpretation of the Cinderella story. Students explore the story Bubba, the Cowboy Prince, through rich text and interpretations of the story.
Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and English Language Development)
By Jennifer Fessler and Karen Wright.
Mud feels good!
Students will listen to Mud Walk by Joy Cowley. Students will experience and describe mud using a bubble map to record their responses. Students will create a class book using chocolate pudding to imitate mud.
Format: lesson plan (grade K English Language Arts and Science)
By Amanda Mcalpine, Carol Elliott, and Ginny Devine.
Leapin' leprechauns
This lesson will allow first graders to use their imagination while practicing newly learned writing skills. The end product will be wonderfully creative leprechaun stories.
Format: lesson plan (grade 1 English Language Arts)
By JoAnn Lazaro.