Teacher Guides to Primary Literature
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Select one of the titles below to view easy-to-use supplemental material that will assist students in enjoying and understanding fine literature. Help your young students (grades K-4) learn to appreciate literature in the classroom, a skill that will help them throughout school and their personal lives. From cheeky instructional works such as The Truth About Poop, to undeniable classics, like Make Way for Ducklings, these book guides will be a great help to you and your students. The lesson plans, printables, and extension activities included in these literature guides will help you structure your classroom discussion. You'll find excellent titles to help you celebrate Children's Book Week, which falls in May. In 2008, it is May 12-18. |
Guides to FictionGet the most out of reading African folk tales by using these worksheets. Enhance reading comprehension with a with a guide that provides classroom activities to be used with the Miss Bindergarten's Kindergarten Series. Address the issue of bullying with your students and encourage class discussion with the resources in this guide to Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back!. This printable packet includes an interview with the author, a post-reading activity, and discussion points to use before and while reading the book. Further connect math with literature through a board game, arts & crafts activities, and counting exercises in this printable discussion guide for the book Alice in Pastaland. Use these fun activities to get students thinking about language while they read Amelia Bedelia. Activities, lessons, web resources, and references to teach Jean Fritz's American Revolution books. Develop students' critical thinking skills with the discussion topics in this teacher's guide for Among the Hidden. Use the activities and research projects to compare the laws, government, and society in this work of fiction to real-world situations. Create a memorable storytelling unit for your class with the help of this teacher's guide. Your students will be delighted by the unique illustrations and storytelling in Chris Van Allsburg's Western, Bad Day at Riverbend. The printable teacher's guide to the book includes a plot summary, teaching ideas for language arts, reading and writing lessons, and discussion questions for a read-aloud with your class. Extend students' enjoyment of The Bake Shop Ghost with fun cross-curricular activities for drama, art, music, and more! Use the questions provided in this teacher's guide to encourage class discussion about the book. Dr. Seuss's Bartholomew and The Oobleck is a wonderful look at the perils of getting what you think you want, a great lesson for children to learn at an early age. Use a teaching guide that includes vocabulary, chapter guides, and extension activities to be used while reading Bartleby of the Mighty Mississippi by Phyllis Shalant. Refer to the discussion questions in this printable teacher's guide before, during, and after reading Because of Winn-Dixie with your class. Explore the themes of the novel and extend students' understanding of the story through various cross-curricular activities. Bring geography to life with this printable teacher's guide to Ben's Dream, a children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. The reading and writing activities and lessons in this guide will help students develop literature and language arts skills, as they learn about landmarks around the world. Four Jan Brett books are featured with activities and resources: Trouble with Trolls, The Night Before Christmas, Annie and the Wild Animals, and The Mitten. After reading Candy Shop, use these questions and cross-curricular activities to encourage classroom discussion on racism, discrimination, and stereotyping. Activities and resources to teach Cecil's Story, a Civil War book written by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. Numerous language arts activities on vocabulary, letter writing, poetry, and reading comprehension extend and enhance students' enjoyment of the book Cowboy Slim. This guide also includes biographies on the author and the illustrator. Students will love these independent and cooperative learning activities, which feature Curious George, the man with the yellow hat, and other characters, places, events, and vocabulary from his adventures. Extend and enhance children's enjoyment of Curious George's First Day of School with the lesson planning resources in this printable teacher's guide. Activities include journaling, show-and-tell, interviews, and mapmaking. Use this detailed teaching guide while reading Dawdle Duckling to your students. Enhance students' enjoyment of the book Desmond and the Naughtybugs with the writing, reading, and art activities in this printable teacher's guide. Activities include a word search, a writing assignment, and much more! In this story a family facing drought turns to a stranger, Drylongso, for help. Enrichment activities and internet resources to enhance the teaching of Even Firefighters Hug Their Moms by Christine Kole MacLean. After reading Feathers with your class, use the questions in this reading guide to start a discussion about race, segregation, and the 1970s. Enrichment activities and internet resources to enhance the teaching of the true story Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman. Explore teaching activities to be used with Babushka Baba Yaga, Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom, Pink & Say, and Chicken Sunday. Discover the magic of Chris Van Allsburg's first children's book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. This printable teacher's guide includes a summary of the book, teaching ideas for language arts, discussion questions, and lesson planning resources for reading the book aloud with your class. Enrichment activities, web resources, and literature tie-ins related to Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. Share a book guide that includes activities and discussion questions that can be successfully integrated into a cross-curriculum program. Delight young children with the resources in this printable teacher's guide to Guess How Much I Love You and I Love My Little Storybook. This guide includes a maze, a matching game, coloring pages, and plenty of activity ideas to extend students' enjoyment of the books. Utilize the resources in this teacher's guide to extend students' enjoyment of books in the Henry and Mudge series. This printable packet includes discussion questions, activities, projects, and research ideas for several books in the series. Have fun teaching your students about poetry with questions, writing assignments, and drama activities that extend and enhance their enjoyment of the parodied poems in I Must Go Down to the Beach Again. Laura Joffe Numeroff's humorous book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie tells the story of a demanding mouse and the child who deals with him. This lesson includes activities and resources to go with the book. Enrichment activities and internet resources to enhance teaching The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. This printable teacher's guide will help you discover how the books in Judy Blume's Fudge series connect to your core curriculum. Resources include discussion questions, projects, and activities such as map reading, letter writing, and painting. Bring the adventures of Judy Moody into your classroom through the cross-curricular activities in this printable packet. Writing assignments, poster projects, research topics, and a character web are some of the great resources included in this teacher's guide to the series. Children of all ages will be delighted by the illustrations and dialogue in Chris Van Allsburg's Jumanji. This teacher's guide includes fun writing activities, reading and writing lessons, and guided questions for reading the book aloud with your class. Encourage students to respect the environment with the lesson planning resources in this teacher's guide for Just a Dream. This printable guide includes a summary of the book, teaching ideas, an upper-grade reading lesson, and a lower-grade writing lesson, to help develop students' literature and language arts skills. Use these activity kits to extend your class reading of the Katie Kazoo Switcheroo series. The Keeping Quilt is a multi-generational story that follows a beloved quilt from one family member to another. The resources and activities suggested here will help students to enjoy and learn from this story. Explore teaching activities to be used with Knick-Knack Paddywhack! Encourage the development of students' entrepreneurial skills with the economics and math activities in this teacher's guide for The Lemonade War, a book about two siblings' business endeavors and relationship. Guide classroom discussion of the book with the questions provided in this packet. Use this activity kit to extend your class reading of The Little Engine That Could, now freshly illustrated by Loren Long. This is the Chinese version of the traditional story of Little Red Riding Hood. Three sisters, Shang, Tao, and Paotze, must defend themselves against a frightening wolf while their mother is away visiting their grandmother for her birthday. Make Way for Ducklings is the ideal book to entertain and teach with. This lesson plan includes activities and resources to go with the book. Help young children learn about safety issues by reading Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride and Mercy Watson Fights Crime. After reading these books with your students, use the discussion questions, art activities, and writing assignments in this teacher's guide to further their understanding of the stories. Examine spelling, phonics, and figurative language with your students by using these lessons and activities for Mercy Watson to the Rescue. This printable teacher's guide includes arts & crafts projects, writing assignments, and many more extension ideas. Enrichment activities and internet resources to enhance teaching Alan Schroeder's Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman. This teacher's guide to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is chock-full of discussion questions, lesson planning resources, projects, and research ideas that will help students examine the book's characters, events, and meaning. Ideas and activities for reading Miss Nelson is Missing. Activities and resources to teach The Mountain That Loved a Bird, written by Alice McLerran and illustrated by Eric Carle. Refer to this printable guide before, during, and after reading Multiplying Menace with your class. It includes discussion ideas, drawing activities, a journalism exercise, and more! Explore teaching activities to be used with Mr. Men & Little Miss Books by Roger Hargreaves. These books cover basic topics of life for young children and have engaging illustrations and messages. Cover the topic of sibling rivalry with this book for younger readers, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. Spark students' imagination with the illustrations and mysterious captions in Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Use the ideas and resources in this printable teacher's guide to develop your students' reading and writing skills. The guide includes a book summary, lesson plans for lower and upper grades, and questions to direct discussion as your class reads the book aloud. Extend reading comprehension with a by using a literature guide that has activities for The Napping House, by Audrey Wood. This assortment of activities will help your students to love nursery rhymes. Use children's literature to help teach music. Explore nursery rhymes with your students and make musical connections to books with these activities. This African legend tells the tale of an elderly Maasai man who gets help from an unlikely source -- Venus! Activities and resources to teach Peace Begins With You, written by Katherine Scholes. Extend and enhance students' enjoyment of Chris Van Allsburg's magical holiday classic The Polar Express with the reading activities and guided discussion questions in this teacher's guide. This printable also includes a summary of the book, ideas for a reading celebration, an upper-grade lesson on similes and metaphors, and a lower-grade lesson on timelines. Enrich students' understanding of Priscilla and the Hollyhocks with the cross-curricular activities and questions in this discussion guide. Use these resources with the book to teach students about slavery and westward expansion in America. Enrichment activities and Internet resources to enhance teaching The Race of Toad and Deer by Pat Mora. Use these lessons and activities with The Rainbow Tulip, by Pat Mora. Use a teaching guide that includes vocabulary words, discussion questions, and extension activities. |
Deepen students' understanding of life, love, loss, and grief through the resources and activities in this printable teacher's guide to Remembering Mrs. Rossi. This guide includes a dictionary activity, open-response questions, writing assignments, teacher appreciation activities, and curriculum connections for art, math, and social studies. Encourage elementary and intermediate students to think about educational issues with the discussion topics, activities, and projects in this teacher's guide for The Report Card. These resources will get students thinking about the meaning of intelligence, the emphasis on grades, and the significance of test scores. Extend and enhance students' enjoyment of Rickshaw Girl with this discussion and activity guide. Students interview classmates, create alpanas, write short stories, and more! Activities and resources related to three books that detail the lives of children during the 1620s in Massachusetts. The Sea Chest is a heartfelt story about a lonely young girl on an isolated Maine lighthouse island whose only wish comes true the day a leather sea chest washes ashore. Extend students' enjoyment of the book Sketches from a Spy Tree with the many language arts activities in this printable teacher's guide. Resources include questions to help you guide discussion and evaluate students' reading comprehension. You'll also find a character chart, poetry lessons, and projects to enhance students' reading experience. Explore teaching activities to be used with Smack Dab in the Middle by Anita Riggio. Refer to this teacher's guide before and after reading Something for Nothing with your class -- you'll find resources that will extend students' enjoyment of the book. The guide includes pre-reading questions, a comprehension guide, and several cross-curricular projects to enhance students' learning experience. Use a handy teacher guide to explore Song and Dance Man, a book that gives children a look at Vaudeville. Stellaluna is a baby bat who is separated from her mother at a young age. This lesson includes extension ideas and resources to go with the book. Introduce your class to Stink Moody! After reading Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid and Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker, use the discussion questions, writing assignments, and cross-curricular activities in this printable teacher's guide to extend students' enjoyment. Guide discussion of character development and explore the elements of a mystery with the lesson planning resources provided in this teacher's guide for The Stranger. Teaching ideas and reading and writing lessons will help deepen students' understanding of the story and improve their language arts skills. Explore fantasy, reality, and the power of dreams with The Sweetest Fig, a children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. This teacher's guide includes a summary of the book, teaching ideas, an upper-grade writing lesson, and a lower-grade reading lesson, to help develop students' literature and language arts skills. Deepen students' reading comprehension through the pre-reading questions, reading instruction, and connection activities in this teacher's guide to The Tale of Despereaux. This printable packet includes worksheets, a graphic organizer, and lesson planning resources for each section of the book. A full list of activities, lessons, and resources for teaching Katherine Paterson's The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks, a Japanese folktale. Use these lessons and activities to supplement lessons centered around The Teacher from the Black Lagoon, a fun book by Mike Thaler. Extend students' enjoyment of children's books by Nancy Carlson and enhance their understanding of the topics covered in each book with the activities and suggestions in this teacher's guide. Resources include ideas for the 100th day of school, grandparents' day, winter, and classroom management. Teach students about the elements of a mystery and learn about the genre's history with this printable guide to Cam Jansen Mysteries by David A. Adler. You'll find plenty of discussion questions, fun teaching ideas, and handouts for books in the series, including a crossword, a word search, a creative writing exercise, and poetry activities. Take advantage of the many children's books by Keiko Kasza to develop elementary-school students' interest in reading. The annotated bibliography included in this printable teacher's guide will help you determine which books best suit your students. Connect the literature with math, science, social studies, and more by using the suggested cross-curricular activities in your classroom. A wealth of resources, lesson plans, and activities that can be used with the story Teammates by Peter Golenbock. Read the sweet story of Tess's Tree, written by Jess M. Brallier and illustrated by award-winning artist Peter H. Reynolds. Then, complete the supplementary activities written specifically for the study of this book. Engage students in the adventures of Tupelo, an abandoned dog who is searching for a new home. In addition to fun extension activities, this teacher's guide for Tupelo Rides the Rails includes questions and themes for classroom discussion. Extend and enhance students' enjoyment of Two Bad Ants, Chris Van Allsburg's exciting insect adventure, with the teaching ideas and resources in this printable guide. Use the comprehension questions to direct classroom discussion, and use the writing and reading lessons to further students' understanding of the book. Enrichment activities and web resources for The Very Hungry Caterpillar plus a bibliography of Eric Carle's works. The lesson planning resources in this discussion guide for Vote! will involve students of all ages in the electoral process. These activities are a great way for students to learn about their local, state, and federal government while researching campaign issues, political parties, candidates, and voting methods. Extend and enhance students' enjoyment of the book Vote! with the activities in this printable teacher's guide. This packet includes discussion questions about the electoral process in the United States, a word search with election vocabulary, and Internet resources for additional information on this topic. The Wall tells the tale of a father and son who visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find the name of the grandfather the boy never knew. The story is told from a young child's point of view. Enhance understanding with a teaching guide that offers tried and true techniques for bringing poetry into the lives of young people. Enrichment activities, web resources, and literature tie-ins related to When the Goblins Came Knocking. Capture your students' imagination with these reading and writing activities for Chris Van Allsburg's The Widow's Broom. This guide includes teaching ideas for language arts, discussion questions for reading the book aloud with your class, and lesson planning resources that are perfect for Halloween! Discover great classroom activities to assist you while teaching these books. Keep your students involved in reading with the projection and discussion questions in this teacher's guide for Worth. Cross-curricular projects will deepen students' understanding of the story as they learn more about the social conditions of the late nineteenth century. Consider the use of voice and the idea of ambiguity with your class as students read Chris Van Allsburg's The Wreck of the Zephyr. This printable teacher's guide includes a summary of the book, reading and writing ideas, discussion questions, and lesson planning resources for language arts. Share a story of adventure with your students. This printable teacher's guide for Chris Van Allsburg's The Wretched Stone includes a summary of the book and teaching ideas for history, social studies, and language arts. Use the lesson planning resources and guided discussion questions to develop students' literary skills and deepen their understanding of the story. Review the alphabet and improve students' language arts skills with the lesson planning ideas in this printable teacher's guide for The Z Was Zapped. Resources include a synopsis of the book, discussion questions, teaching ideas, and reading and writing lessons. Take a journey into outer space with your class by reading Zathura, an adventure story that blends fiction with science. This printable teacher's guide includes a synopsis of the book, discussion questions, and two lesson planning ideas. Extend students' enjoyment of Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: Backyard Animal Show with the teaching resources and cross-curricular activities in this guide. This printable includes several discussion topics for each chapter, so you can monitor students' comprehension as they progress through the book. Develop students' language arts skills while extending their enjoyment of Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: The Buried Bones Mystery. The discussion topics, research activities, and writing prompts in this teacher's guide will help you engage your students in the reading experience, while exploring the characters and elements of the story. Assess students' comprehension skills as they read Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: Lost in the Tunnel of Time. This printable teacher's guide includes discussion questions for each chapter, as well as writing activities and research topics. Activities in this teacher's guide for Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: Shadows of Caesar's Creek include writing prompts, a vocabulary list, and research topics. This printable also includes discussion topics for each chapter in the book. Guides to NonfictionPromote discussion about the meaning of family with the resources in this educator's guide for And Tango Makes Three, a true story about a nontraditional family of penguins. This printable includes several research topics for studying zoo animals and learning more about penguins. Deepen students' understanding of the stories in Amelia to Zora with this printable teacher's guide. Activities include vocabulary building, comprehension questions, and discussion questions on women's history. Introduce students to ornithology and American wildlife through the discussion questions and cross-curricular activities in this printable teacher's guide for The Boy Who Drew Birds. Use these resources in conjunction with the book to examine the life of John James Audubon. Connect science and language arts with questions, discussion ideas, and extension activities in this printable teacher's guide for the book Big Bang. Promote thoughtful discussion on race, language, civil rights, and diversity with this printable discussion guide for Don't Say Ain't. It includes information on integration in the 1950s and questions to ask your students. Full of exciting arts & crafts projects, games, writing prompts, and research ideas, this teacher's guide to the Encyclopedia Prehistorica books will extend students' enjoyment of Dinosaurs, Sharks and Other Sea Monsters, and Mega-Beasts. Creative writing, drawing, and listening extension activities for Anna Harwell Celenza's children's books on classical music will teach students about different musicians and their musical styles. Help your students understand war and terrorism by using the activities and questions in this printable teacher's guide for I'm Still Scared, a biographical account of World War II. In addition to promoting discussion and critical thinking, the guide provides an author interview with Tomie dePaola, cross-curricular projects, and additional resources. Engage students in government by holding a mock election in your classroom! After reading Margaret Chase Smith, use the research ideas, discussion questions, and activities in this guide to teach your class about U.S. political parties, presidential debates, political campaigns, and voting. This colorful picture book introduces children to Swahili and the continent of Africa. Examine the history of the Roman alphabet with the activities in this guide for Ox, House, Stick. Children will enjoy using pictures and symbols to create their own alphabet. Find helpful suggestions for using these books to open doors to nonfiction subjects in a way that is both informative and fun. Find ten tips for using the 2001 Caldecott Medal winner title in your class. Explore teaching activities to be used with The Truth About Poop by Susan E. Goodman. |
