Vocabulary instruction. Quick and easy lesson plans to teach vocabulary through authentic texts for kindergarten, first, and second grade. Students develop reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge with these engaging activities. Vocabulary Instruction Teaching vocabulary is not always something we think about in the primary grades. However, research supports teaching vocabulary instruction when students are beginning…
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12 Month Curriculum Map with Mentor Text Lists for K-2 (FREE) 2019
Curriculum Map update for 2019 at last! “How do I plan out my year-long curriculum?” is probably one of my most frequently asked questions. In the past, I had planned out my year through a combination of paper, Post-It Notes, gum wrappers (kidding on the last one). But when I lead our district’s instructional team,…
31 Back to School Books | Read Alouds for K-2
31 back to school books for primary grades. Share these great read alouds with your students during the first few weeks of school. Back to School Books The first day of summer has come and gone! Are you starting to plan for the upcoming school year? This list of 31 back to school books is…
25 Versions of the Little Red Riding Hood Story
25 Versions of Little Red Riding Hood. Enjoy the different versions of this classic story. Have fun reading and comparing these fractured fairy tales. 25 Versions of Little Red Riding Hood There are so many different adaptations to the original story of Little Red Riding Hood! Several of the stories are written to represent a…
Books about Summer for Kids… and Lesson Ideas, too!
Fun books about summer. Welcome Summer with these great picture books and lesson ideas for kindergarten, first, and second grade! Books About Summer With Summer right around the corner, check out this list of books to help you celebrate. Whether you’re ending the year with a fun summer unit, looking for summer school books, or…
“What if you had…” Lesson Plans and a FREEBIE!
Animal lesson plans for kindergarten and 1st grade with a free file! Close reading lesson plans to learn about animal adaptations using the “What if you had Animal…” book series. Animal Lesson Plans What if you had animal teeth? Or animal ears? This series of books is so fun to read in the classroom. Your…
Someday a Tree Lesson Plans
Someday a Tree lesson plans for K-2. Engaging lessons all planned for you to print and teach. Reading comprehension, responding to literature, sentence study, and more! Someday a Tree Lesson Plans Deanna and I created the Engaging Readers units to be lessons where students are truly thinking about reading. We want you to celebrate their…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: Week 30 Chester
Chester Lesson Plans and Ideas for Kindergarten and First Grade. Reading comprehension, responding to literature, art, and center ideas! Chester Lesson Plans: Read Aloud is laugh-out-loud funny. My class always got a kick out it and it is a great mentor text when you want to talk about a writer’s voice. We use this book…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: Week 29 Piggie Pie
Piggie Pie Lessons for kindergarten and first grade. Reading comprehension, directed drawing, center ideas, and a fun STEM activity too! Could there be a more fun book to read with your class than ? Piggie Pie Lessons: Reading Comprehension First, let’s look at these illustrations! So fun! Some of the reading comprehension strategies we used…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: Week 28 Dragons Love Tacos
Dragons Love Tacos Lessons and Ideas! Dragons Love Tacos Lessons: Read Aloud is such a hilarious book! We knew we had to include it in our Engaging Readers units! Here are a few first-grade response samples. Prediction YES! First grade and even kindergarten are using our 2nd Grade Engaging Readers. This teacher told me that…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 27 Koala Lou
Koala Lou Lesson Ideas! This book by is perfect for kindergarten and first-grade students. Reading comprehension, responding to literature, visualizing, retelling the text, directed drawing, and STEM activity! Koala Lou Lesson Ideas: It starts with a great book! I always say that if you want students to be engaged in their learning, it MUST start…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 26 Hooway for Wodney Wat
Hooway for Wodney Wat Lesson Plans and Ideas for kindergarten. Hooway for Wodney Wat Lesson Plans: Close Reading Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester is one of my favorite books! Perhaps because Wodney may be my kindred spirit! If you are not familiar with the book, it is the story of Rodney (AKA: Wodney)…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 25 Pinkalicious
Pinkalicious Lesson Plans for Kindergarten and 1st Grade! Reading, writing, and comprehension ideas for the book Pinkalicious. Valentine’s Day Math and Literacy Center ideas too! Pinkalicious Lesson Plans: Close Reading We love the book Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann so we knew it would make a great addition to our Engaging Readers units. This is such a…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 24 Just Going to the Dentist
Just Going to the Dentist Lesson Plan Ideas for Kindergarten and1st grade. This is a great book for Dental Health Month! (affiliate link) Just Going to the Dentist Lesson Ideas: Reading Comprehension I love Little Critter books! Making Predictions The students did a great job of making predictions! Making predictions is something that we naturally…
Doctor De Soto Reading Comprehension Ideas
2nd grade picture book with reading comprehension lessons for the book Doctor De Soto. This is a great February read aloud book to use during dental health month. Check out the comprehension strategies that are included for this book. 2nd Grade Picture Book: Doctor De Soto Doctor De Soto is a classic picture book for…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 23 I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!
Ain’t Gonna Paint No More Lesson Plans for kindergarten and first grade. Reading comprehension, story comparisons, retelling, math and literacy connections, and a watercolor art activity. Ain’t Gonna Paint No More Lesson Plans: Close Reading I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More is such a fun book to read. I always sing it and my classroom…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 22 Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Goldilocks and the Three Bears Lesson Plans for kindergarten and first grade. Students always love the stories of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It is a great opportunity to do a little story comparison in our Engaging Readers units. Goldilocks and the Three Bears Lesson Plans: The Books We used three versions of Goldilocks and the…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 21 Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed
Ordinary Marys Extraordinary Deed Lesson Plans and Ideas for kindergarten and first-grade! Ordinary Marys Extraordinary Deed Lesson Plans: Close Reading Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed is such a great book about random acts of kindness. I have used in my classroom for years and my class loves it! Naturally, we had to include it in our…
10 Cynthia Rylant Books to Fall in Love with
Cynthia Rylant books for children classroom activities. Favorite books by Cynthia Rylant including Dog Heaven. These are some of our most cherished stories in kindergarten and first grade. “The gift of language, it’s truly a gift”. These are the words of Cynthia Rylant. This wonderful writer has won several awards for her children’s books. She…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 20 Sneezy the Snowman (Free file too)
Sneezy the Snowman Lesson Plans for kindergarten and first grade. Reading comprehension, writing prompts, a craft and more. Check out my lesson plan ideas with math and literacy center ideas too for your classroom. Sneezy the Snowman Lesson Plans: Close Reading I love this fun book. It is precious, precious, precious! Sneezy the Snowman is…
Wordy Birdy Meets Second Grade Lesson Ideas
Second grade reading comprehension lessons for Wordy Birdy. These 2nd grade ideas for a close read are easy to prepare. Student writing response pages and discussion stems are included. Let me start by saying, Wordy Birdy is GREAT! The bright and vivid illustrations along with the lesson about being a good listener make this book…
The Story of Snow Lesson Plans
Snow lesson plans for your 2nd-grade classroom. Students engage in reading and writing activities to better understand how snow forms. The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson is the perfect nonfiction book to welcome winter into your classroom! The beautiful photographs capture students’ attention and allow for…
KINDERGARTEN LESSON PLANS: WEEK 19 Snow is Falling
Learning About Snow Lesson Plans for kindergarten and first grade with the book Snow is Falling. Learning About Snow: Reading Ideas For this week’s close reading the book Snow is Falling is perfect! This is one of our Engaging Readers books and it is filled with all sorts of information about snow and how it is…
Kindergarten Lesson Plans: Week 18 Peter’s Chair (FREE file)
Ezra Jack Keats Peter’s Chair Lesson ideas! This week’s I am sharing Ezra Jack Keats Peter’s Chair* lesson ideas! *affiliate link Ezra Jack Keats Peter’s Chair lesson ideas: Reading and Responding to Text As with all of our Engaging Readers units, we focus on various comprehension strategies all week. Retelling I love how this teacher…