I've got a huge list of FREE Bible curriculum for homeschoolers to use in their Bible Lessons.
Save time using these ready-made forest school lesson plans, including outdoor learning lessons in math, science, literacy, wellbeing & more
Fables are an important part of English Language Arts instruction. The genre, which often includes animals that act like humans and moral lessons, is perfect for targeted lessons in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and analyzing. Classic and modern fables are both entertaining and approachable. Fables also shed light on other cultures, characterization, and moral lessons. Most importantly, they're just plain fun to teach! Here are 6 easy ways to teach fables in your classroom... I LOVE giving students a chance to write their very own fable. I recommend starting with mentor texts so that students can become experts on the genre. Then, through targeted writing instruction, students can write their own story that includes a moral, animal characters, story elements, and illustrations. As students develop their stories, you can even have them "pitch" their stories to their peers acting as storybook editors. Once students have written a strong fable, take these lessons to the next level and let students create a children's book filled with illustrations. You could even have them share their fables with younger students. Check out this ready-to-teach Fable Writing Unit! Don't you just love lessons that meet a ton of instructional standards at once? Well, this fable unit does just that! It’s a 7-day unit designed around Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper,” and in it students read three different versions of the fable. After building background on each form, they have the opportunity to critically read and respond to the fable in prose, verse, and drama form. Through small group work, independent studies, and class discussions students will not only understand and appreciate the elements of a fable and each form of literature, but they’ll also develop a deep understanding of each text. Learn more about this unit here. Of course, fables are wonderful to read in the classroom. But, why just read a fable when you can also connect, investigate, write, and draw? I created this Foldable Fables resource with Art with Jenny K. to combine reading, writing, and illustrating. This resource is super engaging because students create an accordion-style booklet filled with their learning and creativity. It's fun and educational! The seven learning activities help students connect deeply to their reading. Check out the super engaging Foldable Fable here! I've found that fables are wonderful to add to learning stations focused on reading comprehension skills. For instance, in this sequencing centers resource, students investigate "Fox and the Goat" at one of the learning stations. At the station, they're tasked to read the fable and then put the fable in the correct sequence with an interactive shape. Since fables are often short and focused they're the perfect addition to reading comprehension learning stations! Fables lend themselves perfectly to plays. I've found that students respond really well to opportunities to perform short skits and plays in the classroom. In this theme mini-unit, students get to act out "The Four Oxen and a Lion." As a small group, they practice reading out loud, acting, and investigating theme. It's fun for students to get into different characters as they act out a fable! I'm a big fan of reading out loud to students. Often, I would read stories to students as they completed their daily warm-ups. My read alouds included novels, poems, short stories, and of course, fables. You might mix-up your own read alouds with fables from around the world or modern fables. Here are a few collections of fables that you might want to add to your classroom library... --- Aesop's Fables: The Classic Edition --- Buddhist Stories for Kids --- Filipino Children's Favorite Stories ------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you've found some simple ways to teach fables in your classroom! Fables really are wonderful literature treasures for teaching reading, writing, investigating, performing, and more! Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth P.S. My friend, Art with Jenny K., has another idea for adding fables to the classroom. Check out her post here. *This post contains affiliate links.
Surprise!!! This entire series has recieved a total overhaul in 2023! I've added craft templates and free worksheets in hopes of making your life easier! You're a busy Mama. To be honest I'm impressed that
Grab our free, clickable Mega List of Themes and Skills for Pre-K & Kindergarten Lesson Plans to see what themes/skills I cover in my classroom all year!
Set the stage for a fantastic school year with these fun, foundational, and differentiated September library lessons!
Keep all of your lesson plans for the whole school year in one streamlined easy-to-access place with a Google Sheets Lesson Plan Template!
This complete art lesson plan includes pictogram templates to print, color, cut and combine to make a Keith Haring style art work. This Keith Haring Cut and Color Art Lesson is an Elementary School Art Lesson Plan that is easy to teach and make. This Art Lesson Plan is suitable for student from Grade 4 to Grade 6, but could be used with older students. Clear printable lesson plan instructions of the complete art lesson are included, as well as examples. Templates of Keith Haring style pictograms are included. Use the Keith Haring Coloring page for fast finishers. This art lesson plan includes a Wordsearch and Wordsearch Solution to help introduce and revise vocabulary used in this art lesson. This art lesson plan includes printable Vocabulary Flashcards, and "I can statements". 3 Keith Haring Art Worksheets are included in this art lesson plan. This Keith Haring Art Lesson Plan includes extension suggestions for how to go further with this project. Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are included. A Visual Rubric is included: use for marking, peer review, or self evaluation. A Self Reflection Sheet is included for students to reflect on their art learning. All graphics created by Kerry Daley ©2022 You may also like these Art Lesson Plans: One Point Perspective Lessons Grade 5 and Grade 6 Art Lessons and Worksheets Mechanimals Collage Project Surrealist Animal Collage Project Don’t miss out on freebies, flash sales and more! Follow me on TPT Find me on Instagram Follow me on Pinterest Terms and Conditions Copyright © Kerry Daley. All rights reserved by author. This product is to be used by the original downloader only. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Clipart and elements found in this PDF are copyrighted and cannot be extracted and used outside of this file without permission or license. Intended for classroom and personal use ONLY.
French First Week Activities: In my previous 4 posts, I've talked about why it's so important to create an immersion atmosphere, how to set the tone for the year, and how to set expectations for the first day of French class. In this post about the French first week activities, I'll be sharing the lessons
Surprise!!! This entire series has recieved a total overhaul in 2023! I've added craft templates and free worksheets in hopes of making your life easier! You're a busy Mama. To be honest I'm impressed that
100+ Printable board games and templates for kids and beginner ESL students. Download and use in class today!
Preschool themes from A to Z. Choose a theme that is best for your preschooler or preschool class from over 130 preschool themes!
All about teaching preschool! Great ideas for preschool activities, standards-based curriculum, preschool assessments, and documentation.
Surprise!!! This entire series has recieved a total overhaul in 2023! I've added craft templates and free worksheets in hopes of making your life easier! You're a busy Mama. To be honest I'm impressed that
The Fall Preschool Unit is packed full of hands on math & literacy activities as well as no prep worksheets for easy lesson planning.
Need some guidance for teaching preschool Spanish? You’re in the right place! Young children are the perfect age to soak up a new language. I'm currently raising my own three kids bilingually, and have taught classes to this age group as well. It's never too late to start, and 3-5 year olds are really fun to teach! In this post I've compiled my favorited strategies for you. To get started in learning Spanish together, you Can Do three things: 1. Outline some beginning topics. You can create your own list, with common preschool topics (think numbers, colors, greetings, etc.)Take a
Get an outline for teaching all the reading and writing standards in your Middle School ELA class.
From free history curriculum to fun timeline activities!
Learn about Early Explorers for Kids with this fun, 5-week history lesson unit for elementary age kids to learn about the Vikings, Columbus, Magellan, and more!
A fun and creative elementary school art lesson plan for K-4th grade. This lesson plans is perfect for celebrating International Dot Day. Art teachers and educators can teach students creativity, courage & collaboration with Kandinsky inspired artwork.
10 Creative Art Activities for Kids, including free printable drawing prompts and art collages, plus many more creative art ideas!
Are you a newer teacher who could use some guidance and Spanish lesson plans from a veteran teacher? Are you teaching multiple levels of Spanish classes at once (3-5 preps)? Do you wish your students were more interested and engaged? Are you looking for fresh ideas to spice up your class? Do you feel really
Looking to bring your lesson plans to the 21st century? Then, learn how to use Google Sheets Lesson Plan templates!
Do you teach a Community Helpers Preschool or Kindergarten Unit? You will LOVE this fun set of pretend play learning centers and no prep worksheets.
Engage your piano students from the very beginning of their piano lessons with these creative ways to start a lesson. Read more.
Make lesson planning easier by repeating activities. Keep reading to find out how each life skills activity is different each day.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Use this collection of Paul Klee teaching resources and complete Klee Famous Artist Unit lesson plans to teach elementary art class.
Super fun project for your Pre-k, Kindergarteners, and even 1st Graders. Your students will have so much fun mixing colors, whether they are just learning about color, or revisiting color mixing. This project is very versatile and can be created using a variety of mediums such as watercolor paint, t...
special education, centers, sped centers, lesson plans, sped lesson plans, classroom management, sped classroom
Free art lessons for art teachers to use in the art classroom.
As students head back to school, ELA teachers everywhere are considering how they are going to begin the school year, so I wanted to walk you through one of my favorite lesson plans entitled, “Why do we read?” As an educator, there are few things as exciting and rewarding as introducing a young person to […]
Get FREE Google lesson plans from Google’s Applied Digital Skills resource center. These are super handy for teachers! These are ready-to-go, asynchronous lessons that will help your students gain future-ready skills. Let's dig into this amazing resource!
This making inference activity and lesson plan will help all of your readers succeed at making inferences and inferring as they independently read in your upper elementary and middle school classrooms. Making inference mentor text included.
One of the most frequent questions I have been asked is how I use Unique in my classroom and how I plan! I have to admit, I am an avid fan of Unique Learning System, however, I do not use ALL components of the unit. I have been using ULS for about 5 years now, enough to have figured out which pieces of the unit fit best with my students. One of the good things about Unique is that they provide you with an abundance of materials. I have not met one teacher yet that is able to use ALL of the plans from the unit (and if you are one of those teachers more power to ya!). For me, the key is to find what works best for your students! Monthly Mapping The first thing I do is grab a monthly calendar and my blank planning template (I will post the link to this free resource below). I mark all the days that we will be off and out of school. Once I have those days crossed off I start my planning. I print the first page from the unit that lists all the lessons. I plan when I will give my pre-assessment and then when I want my students to have their post assessment. If you do not use the Unique GPS, I highly recommend it! You can see student weak areas, what they need to focus on and you can see their growth over the month. I love it! Next, I choose the activities that I feel best introduce the topics to my students and highlight them. After I have all the activities chosen, I add them into my calendar. Unique GPS data FREE Blank Template Download Template Here Selecting the Activities I have used Unique long enough to discover what works best for me and my students. It has changed yearly. This year, I used the following activities consistently every month: Leveled Book (Lesson 1) and corresponding activity Leveled Book Comprehension (Lesson 2) Easy Read Book (Lesson 3) and corresponding activity Easy Read Book Comprehension (Lesson 4) Vocabulary (Lesson 12) Literary Experience (Lessons 15 and 16) Vocabulary Sort (Lesson 18) Science Experiment (Lesson 28) History Timeline (Lesson 29) Supplemental Activities I use: Adapted Book Packs (samples of the packs in the picks below!) I created these book packs to help me supplement the curriculum because I needed more books! I started creating differentiated activities to go along with the books. Each adapted book set comes with at least 3 adpated books each book with 3 differentiated corresponding comprehension activities. 1 file folder game to cover vocabulary, 2 differentiated levels of vocabulary task boxes, and 1 counting card activity directly related to the monthly theme. Some packs include bonus materials! Science Adapted Book Packs I currently have 11 science themed activities listed and 5 science themed adapted book packs available. You can find the link to them above. I also have them available in a BUNDLE. Social Studies Adapted Book Packs I currently have 6 adapted book packs available. I also have these bundled for convenience. You can find the bundle here. Craft Activities related to topic Extension Activities from higher level unit N2Y activities Summer Themes: Summer Camp Theme Amusement Park Theme Planning the Lessons I don't have a ton of time in my classroom to teach science and social studies content. On top of all the IEP work, speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, specials, and getting them out to gen ed, I needed to integrate my lessons. So, my planning had to be simplified and integrated. During my small group/morning meeting I decided that when I was reading books, they needed to be adapted and content related. So my first step in my planning is mapping out my literacy activities. You can see those in the picture below color-coded in purple. After I have those planned, I go back and plan on my specific content related activities, which are usually only 15 minutes long. Those are in the picture below color-coded in green. The best part about planning this way, is once I have one month planned, I can pretty much easily plug in the rest of the year's lesson plans! I just re-use the same format and timeline from the first month. Some adjustments might need to be made based on days off, special activities, but for the most part, it's quick and easy to plug in my plans for the month! Ideas for Lessons Vocabulary I always like to introduce the topics from the unit by introducing the new vocabulary. Some things that I have done in the past to make these activities fun and engaging: Mystery Box- add items to a box and have the students feel items and take guesses on what the new unit is going to be about. Example: for the light and sound unit I put a light bulb and a tamborine in the box and had students feel and guess what the items were. Play Hide and Seek- Hide new vocabulary words around the room and have students find them. When they find a vocabulary word have them read it to you. Mystery Word- Put vocabulary words in a brown paper bag and have students choose a word from the bag and tell class and hang up the word Put students in charge of changing the words- Our words are hanging on the wall next to our white board, I like to lay all the vocab words on the table and ask the student to find ______ and hang it on the wall. After I have introduced the vocabulary we play the corresponding match game the next day. I like to incorporate the leveled books during my literacy lessons. Typically, I will introduce the first book, and have students find the vocabulary words and highlight them. For my lower level students, the adapted book packs I use incorporate the vocabulary making it quick and easy for you to assess using the books. I typically read the book and have my students make selections from the icons from a field of 2 or 3 depending on the student. I make sure to emphasize the unit vocabulary words during the story and direct instruction. We do the vocabulary sort around three weeks into instruction so that I know the students have a had good quality time to absorb the content. I usually use this as an assessment, and students complete either individually or with some physical assistance. For my higher level students they complete independently and have very little accommodations. For my lower level students they complete with some assistance (for physical needs) but I color code their sorts to make it more independent for them. Color-Coded Vocabulary Sort (Not from Unique, but strategy I use for differentiation) Adapted Books/Literacy I use both of the leveled books provided in the unit. I adapt them so they are interactive and the students can use icons to engage in the story. If the book warrants, I will use props to keep the kids excited about the story. I use these books to cover content, otherwise I would not have time! My typical routine for literacy is: Introduce the book Read and emphasize vocabulary Have students match icons to story from a field of 2 or 3 Complete literacy activity and discuss vocabulary Re-read book focusing on content Comprehension assessment I repeat these steps for the five books that I use during the unit. I created my adapted book packs so that I would always have a content related book to read and an activity to correlate! It makes my literacy planning so much easier! I love using the literary experience. I use these monthly but pick and choose upon availability of the books that correspond with that lesson. Adapted Books for "Plants Can Grow" Unit Adapted Book Packs Props for acting out story "Bunny in the Garden" Science Experiment I love doing the science experiments with the kids! I love getting them excited about them! I typically do my science experiment the third week of instruction however in this example (May) I needed to do it sooner due to the nature of the experiment (keeping plants healthy). I break my experiments down into smaller sections to increase engagement. Here is my typical routine for science experiments: Day 1- Introduce experiment- show items used in experiment, pass out experiment packet, look through experiment and discuss our steps. Day 2- Re-read experiment, discuss and make hypothesis, "check off" materials to make sure we are ready to go! Day 3- Conduct Experiment - following steps of experiment Day 4- Review our experiment, complete conclusion I try to do experiments on Thursdays because we have extra time on this day because we have no specials! One fun way I like to get them excited is to purposely leave materials for the experiment out around the classroom. When they find them, I say, "I guess you'll have to wait and see for experiment day!" Science Experiment "Keeping Plants Healthy" Crafts I like to do crafts related to the topics of our units. I usually just pinterest or try to think of my own. Also, if you have access to the intermediate level of the unit, they have crafts as part of their lessons! I usually pull from that unit as well. Craft for "Our Impact on the Environment" Unit Craft for "Plants Can Grow" Unit How do you plan your units? I would love to hear new tips and tricks! Drop a comment below if you have any suggestions for me! Follow my classroom journey on instagram for more ideas, tips, and fun!
