In this lesson, students will explore self-portraiture by looking at classical portrait paintings, such as Diego Velazquez's La Infanta Margarita or Raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione. A close look at these works reveals mathematical relationships and proper proportions that students can incorporate into their own self-portraits.

Students will engage in discussions about story details and write an informational piece about the events in the story "Come Along Daisy".

Students will write an informative sentence in response to listening to the story "Does A Kangaroo Have a Mother Too?". Included in this lesson are videos of mother and baby animals, pictures of the lesson in action, and a video of student oral presentations.

Students will learn the difference between books that tell stories and books that give information. Multiple videos of different level reading groups engaged in this lesson, along with a printable activity sheet are included.

Students will brainstorm adjectives to describe the American Flag and will write two descriptive sentences for homework. Students will also create star art to accompany their writing to show the relationship between words and pictures and that books include both to help us make meaning.

Through the story, Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come, students find out about Henry and his new kindergarten class. As a class, they write about what it is like in kindergarten class.

In this lesson students will write an informative sentence in response to listening to the story; "Mice squeak, We speak". Included in this lesson are examples of student work, videos of oral presentations, and puzzle pieces for new vocabulary.

In this lesson, students will give an opinion on the best part of the story "Oh My! It's Apple Pie!" and validate why it is their favorite. Included are student samples, an assessment sample, templates, and videos of the lesson in action.

Students will participate in a picture walk through the expository text "Seasons and Weather". The purpose of the picture walk is to prepare the students for reading the story and gives them practice in using picture clues to make meaning. It gives them a sense of the text and an idea of what they will be reading about.

In this lesson, students will read and discuss story events and then write an informative sentence about one of the events.

In this lesson, students will write an informational paper by comparing fictional text and a non fiction text about boa constrictors.

Students need to have lots of opportunities to share their opinions based on text. In this lesson, the teacher will read the story, Jack and the Beanstalk, multiple times before the students create their opinion. The detailed process of modeling this skill, an example of a completed student's work, and a video of the lesson are provided.

This site discusses how story frames are a great way to support emergent writers in the classroom. Lots of story prompts and writing frames to use in a K-2 classroom.

Help young students move from drawing pictures into writing simple stories. Good plan for having students put pictures in sequential order and teaching them about sequential order.

An informational article concerning the "emergent reader" (child who has just learned to read). Provides information about writing for emergent readers, educating emergent readers, and serving as an editor for emergent literature.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Choose from a variety of worksheets to help students practice writing to compose informative/explanatory texts.

Students study the life cycles of different plants and animals and the characteristics of living, nonliving, and dead things, through multiple engaging informational texts and hands-on activities.

Students gather factual information about frogs and toads to create nonfiction and fiction stories. Drawing is used for prewriting.

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH-my! Help young students practice their research and presentation skills with this fun, hands-on animal research and presentation project. 

How do we find a happy balance between our online and offline activities? Students consider the feelings of themselves and others when making decisions about when, where, and how much to use technology. Approximately 25 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Know when and why to take breaks from device time. Consider the feelings of people around them, even when engaged in fun online activities.