Summarizing

In this lesson we learn how to take a story and make it into a much shorter version while still keeping the most important information.

Prefixes and Suffixes

What is a prefix? What is a suffix? How can each change the meaning of a root word? This lesson addresses these important questions, and more.

Subject and Predicate

Here we deal with the anatomy of a sentence, and students learn how a sentence can be broken into two key components: subject and predicate. Caveat: this lesson assumes prior knowledge of verbs.

Setting

In this lesson, students will learn to identify the setting of a story, sometimes as stated directly in the text, and sometimes by using evidence and making an inference.

Character Traits

In this lesson, students learn how to distinguish between an inside trait and an outside trait, and how to determine various character traits through inference, based on evidence in a text.

Sequencing

This lessons shows students how sequencing words like “first”, “next”, “then”, and “last” establish the order of a series of events.

Fact vs. Opinion

The ability to distinguish opinion from fact is a vitally important literacy skill; you can help students do just that with this groovy lesson.

Types of Sentences

Use this video to introduce the four types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory. Additional resources include posters, a lyric sheet, and more.

Inference

This video shows students how to make an inference using prior knowledge and incomplete information. Additional resources include posters, a graphic organizer, task cards, and a lyric sheet.

Author’s Purpose

This lesson helps students identify the author’s purpose for various types of writing and introduces them to the handy acronym/mnemonic device P.I.E. (Persuade Inform or Entertain). Additional resources include posters, a sorting activity, exit tickets, a graphic organizer, and a lyric sheet.