Reading response journal activities for book report alternatives, ELA lesson plans

March is National Reading Month, starting with the NEA's "Read Across America." Looking for ideas to inspire a life-long love of books? Here are reading response activities, interactive ELA (English language arts) lessons, book-based crafts and literature response lessons. Book activities are hands-on, multi-sensory, cross-curricular Montessori-style. Use for interactive Readers Workshop, special education students, reluctant readers, divergent learners and summer reading enrichment.

Reading response journal. Have kids create personalized reading logs, respond to literature and complete book-based activities. Check off ELA activities as completed. Check out my other post for a reading response journal rubric. 

Homemade books. Cut book covers from cereal box. Cover with scrap wrapping paper or wallpaper. Cover with magazine picture collage. Decoupage by painting pictures with watered-down school glue, front and back. Cut lined paper pages (for text) and blank paper (for illustrations). Or use scrap paper and draw in text lines. These make great hands on reading response activities for readers workshop and writers workshop. They are the perfect book report alternative for English language arts lesson plans. 

Book-based promotional materials. Have kids play marketer for their favorite book or author. Make posters, book covers advertising literature. Create 3-D sculptures, models or dioramas based on books. Make book-based merchandise: toys, snacks, food, games. In homeschooling, my 6th grade son designed a "Hobbit Holes" cereal box designed on his favorite J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

Book diorama book report alternative. Create scenes from books using recycled products. Arrange scene in shoe box. Use small dolls (Lego, Fisher-Price, Little Tikes, Polly Pockets) as characters.

Story-reading audio/video presentations. Using cellphones, have students create videos of themselves reading books. Encourage them to create a literature podcasts or vlogs. Upload videos to Youtube or Tik Tok. Reading aloud boosts confidence in ELA subject matter. 

Story-telling. Students read aloud to younger students. Students act out children's books and present to younger or special needs classes. In high school, our oldest daughter acted out a Shel Silverstein's poem "Noise Day" for special education kids. They loved when she skateboarded across the stage! Talk about an interactive reading response activity! 

Book-music connections. Create music playlists based on books. Select metaphorical songs. Kids will love choosing modern songs to represent story themes. Our family saw a production of "Macbeth." The play was set to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance," "The Decemberists "This is Why We Fight" and "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant. It really resonated with students and helped them understand and relate to Shakespeare. Plays and music help connect English language art activities to life. 

Help students brainstorm on creative book report alternatives and reading response activites. 

Dr. Seuss activities, games, crafts, lesson plans for preschool learning centers

The Cat in the Hat doffs his cap on March 2, to honor the 117th birthday of his creator Ted Geisel, better known as the beloved Dr. Seuss. To celebrate Seuss, the NEA (National Education Association) hosts "Read Across America." March is also National Reading Month and a perfect time to explore Dr. Seuss. Here are a hatful of literature-based activities to extend reading in preschool learning centers.

 Dr. Seuss is right at home in the book or library learning center. Fill your book corner with Seuss books. Emergent readers will love the pictures. Scatter some comfy pillows and any Seuss character toys. If you're like me and not into licensed characters, gather generic stuffed animals with Seussian theme: from Horton Hears a Who: elephants (Horton), birds (Daisy-headed Maisie), monkeys (Wickersham brothers), kangaroo and joey, turtles (Yertle), moose (Thidwick), cats (in silly hats), dogs (Max from the Grinch). From The Lorax; swans, bears, fish. Throw a Seuss story party (details to follow in my next post). 

For a Dr. Seuss art center, display his books: The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Each day of Read Across America week, create Seuss-inspired artwork. Paint some of his crazy creatures at easels with brightly colored paints. Model creatures in clay or playdough. Create silly Seuss sculptures by poking recycled materials in Styrofoam blocks. But don't just model...create your own! 

To teach Dr. Seuss at the collage center, make Seuss toys from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Put out oddly shaped cardboard containers, egg cartons, aluminum foil and cans, plastic containers and colored fabric scraps. Students can design their own version of a Whoville Jing Tingler, Flu Flooper, Tar Tinkers, Who Hoover or Who Carnio Flunx. Make silly hats like Bartholomew Cubbins' 500! 

Bringing Dr. Seuss to music learning centers, is as easy as cut, glue, decorate! Using ideas from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", make homemade Seuss-ical instruments. Create noise-makers like the Grinch's hated Gar Ginkers Trum Tupers Slu Slumkers Blum Bloopers Who Wompers and Zu Zitter Carzays. Encourage students to give their musical instruments silly sounding names. 

Dr. Seuss fits perfectly in dramatic play or dress up learning centers. Have students design masks of Seuss characters: Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Horton the elephant, Yertle the Turtle, Maisie the bird, the Wickersham monkeys, the Kangaroo and her joey.  Let children create their own Seuss creatures. Encourage kids to perform a Dr. Seuss parade like the one in his first book "And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street." Dress in homemade Seuss costumes, play musical instruments and show off homemade toys.

Dr. Seuss finds a play in science learning centers, using Lorax inspired life lessons. The Lorax deals with environmentalism and respect for biomes and animals on the planet. Set up an experiment on decomposition and pollution. Place different pieces of trash in zippered bags with a little water. Monitor them over time to show students how slowly trash decomposes. Students could also tend "truffula seeds" (use any flower seeds, sunflower, cosmos or daisy). Explore the food chain and animal species and habitats using these free printable habitat dioramas from First-Palette. Make Oobleck mixing liquid laundry starch and white school glue.

To teach a Dr. Seuss practical life area, use "The Cat in the Hat", "Green Eggs and Ham" and "Horton Hears a Who." These books deal with caring for others, preparing food and house cleaning. Do a Cat in the Hat tidy up relay race. Cook green eggs and ham. Care for an insect or goldfish.

Supplement with these free printable Dr. Seuss activities from Rock Your Homeschool. These are just a few of the Dr. Seuss activities to inspire a love of learning and reading in preschoolers. 

Cardboard castle craft project for social studies, medieval history, book-based activities

Here's a craft project that can be used for anything from home, to classroom to youth theater: a cardboard castle. Make it grand enough to grace a stage or simple enough to stow in the closet for children's rainy day fun. Create one for preschool learning centers or high school history projects. This castle project makes a perfect complement to medieval social studies units. It can be a book-based literature response activity or book report alternative.

To start, make cardboard castle walls. Cut open two large, recycled cardboard refrigerator boxes. Tape two boxes together to make an octagon castle "keep." Cut cardboard castle battlements. Castle walls had a series of crenelations and merlons (squared edge thingys) along the top. Here are free printable patterns for medieval crafts and castle design ideas. Cut cardboard castle keep windows: Draw a four-pane window and cut openings.

Decorate recycled cardboard castle. Draw in bricks and a medieval family crest. Cut a drawbridge opening in the side of cardboard castle. Attach yarn to both sides of to lower and raise drawbridge. Cut holes in the top to tie drawbridge closed when the royal inhabitants aren't receiving company. Place blue blankets around the outside for the castle moat. Fill with stuffed animal dragons, fish, alligators and other aquatic creatures.

Make flags for cardboard castle. Royals had ancient family crests that symbolized their clan. These were placed on banners flown when the family was in residence. Banners were carried standards into battles. Have kids design their royal family crest. Here are free printable heraldry stencils for medieval crafts for kids. Make banners on squares of fabric cut from old bed sheets or towels. Draw or paint crest using permanent marker or fabric paint.

Make secret entrances for your recycled cardboard castle. Line chairs up to make a crawl-through tunnel entrance into castle. Drape sheets, blankets and bed linens over tunnel. Establish a
dungeon. Make a parapet (walkway) by placing several chairs or a bench along the inside edge of the castle. Soldiers keep lookout here and send prisoners to sit under the chairs in the dungeon sit under bench. Fashion a turret. Put a collapsible net laundry hamper upside down on a
chair inside the castle. Children crawl into hamper and onto chair to look out of the turret.

No Roses for Harry Recycled Yarn Craft, Book based Snacks, Printables

Are your kids going winter stir-crazy? You need a craft afternoon. I learned as a teacher/homeschool mom to make lesson plans hands-on. My craft parties include an interactive story and snack and lots of free printable book-based activities. 

One of my husband's favorite children's literature characters is Harry the Dirty Dog, created by Gene Zion and drawn by Margaret Bloy Graham. There are several books featuring Harry the Dog. My mom described a yarn bush she made for the birds and it reminded me of Harry. Here are activities based on "No Roses for Harry."

 

Story Party Book Activity: Read "No Roses for Harry" in ebook online at Open Library. You can hear an audio reading on Youtube. Pause the story at various points and encourage children predict what will happen next. Let children color these free printable Harry the Dirty Dog coloring pages, make a booklet and retell the story. Here's are printable No Roses for Harry coloring pages. 

Story Party Science Activity: Make a yarn bush. Gather up recycled bits of string and yarn. Place them in trees and bushes for the birds to use in nest building, like the bird did in "No Roses for Harry." Look for your yarn in bird's nests. My mother says her yarn has been disappearing, so she knows the birds are nesting. You might get a bird guide and ID the birds you see in the yard. 

Story Party Recycle Bin Craft: Teach kids divide by 2 by braiding yarn. Wind yarn braid into a concentric circle Sew a few stitches to hold it together and you have a recycled craft pot holder. These are great for preschool crafts. If you are crafty like Grama in "No Roses for Harry" teach children simple finger knitting or use large blunt needles. Let them knit a washcloth. 

Story Party Math Craft. Use this free printable rose pattern to make paper roses. Teach about spiral patterns. 

Story Party Snack: Make "roses" by spreading cream cheese on a scallion, pickle spear, carrot or celery stick. Wrap a slice of ham or other lunchmeat around it. Cut radish or tomato roses. Make open face jam sandwiches cut in flower shapes. Make flower shaped pancakes. 

Story Party Math Craft Snack: Make flower cookies. Roll sugar cookie dough in little balls. Arrange four in a square or five in a circle. Bake and frost. Decorate with candy sprinkles and an M&M in the center. Decorating cookies is a great preschool craft snack!  

Warm up after snow day play with cocoa cookies and more Harry stories! Or cool down after summer play with lemonade and Harry the Dirty Dog, Harry and the Lady Next Door or Harry By the Sea. 

Homemade, Recycle Bin Shoe Box Dioramas, Miniatures, Props with Free Printables

Does this scene sound familiar in your home? It's 8 pm and darling daughter is wailing. She forgot to make her school shoebox diorama project due TOMORROW! Been there done that. I wanted to say "tough luck. Take the F" (which she deserved). But being a forgetful, eleventh-hour girl myself, I confess, I empathized. So I bailed her out. The whole family helped. We made an awesome woodland Native American shoebox diorama with recycled trash and household stuff. 

For homemade shoe box dioramas for any content area, all you need is a recycle bin, craft scraps, household junk and a little ingenuity. Here are free printable dollhouse miniatures and free printable habitat diorama backgrounds. I've included free printable scale model building patterns too. 

* Backdrop. Stand shoe box upright inside box lid. Get little-miss-last-minute busy drawing background inside lid (or on plain paper to attach to lid. Our shoebox diorama required an eastern woodland background. For a science habitat diorama, draw a nature scene. For English literature, create a scene from book. One son made a baseball field for a shoebox diorama from "The Chosen." Glue on cotton balls for clouds. Tape tinsel to box top for rain. 

* Buildings. Make 3-D house from smaller box. For 3-D yard or city scene, cut boxes and attach small portions to sides. Make a row of different sizes boxes for city. Cut doors to open. Decorate as house, church, store, office building, school. We made a longhouse from a butter tub. For a tipi, use a paper cone or cup.

* Furniture.  Use dollhouse furniture. Cover small boxes with fabric, wallpaper or wrapping paper for couch, table, bed or chairs. Cut chairs from cardboard. 

* Figures. Use action figures, dolls, Fisher Price or Lego people or Polly Pockets. Or draw face on round-head peg clothespin, pencil or toilet paper tube. Bend pipe cleaners or twist ties into dolls. Add wooden bead for head or paper face. Stuff a glove. Tie with yarn to make arms from outer fingers, legs from middle, head from thumb. Wrap dolls in scrap fabric or colored paper for clothes. Tie. Glue yarn, twine, plastic or paper scraps for hair. 

* Props. Use game pieces, toy sets, doll and action figure accessories, building sets, miniatures. Postage stamps and stickers make rugs, pictures, decorations. Roll paper strip and tie with yarn for scroll or diploma. Tiny yarn balls, beads and marbles make fruit, balls, rocks, cannon balls. Lids, pill bottle covers and tube caps make glasses and dishes. Thimbles and spools are buckets, hay bales, workshop accessories. For our native American shoebox diorama fire, we used broken pencils as logs and orange and red clear plastic for fire. Cut props from cardboard. Staple fabric scraps for curtains, blankets, doors. 

* Landscape. Use small branches for trees. Draw a"garden" on brown fabric or use striped material. Cover little boxes and pill bottles with fabric, grey for rocks and brown for hills, blue for water. Make paper trees and plants from paper tubes or straws. Use plastic toy animals for farm or nature scenes. 

* Military. Use vehicles, weapons and equipment from toy soldiers or GI Joe sets. Make bandages from brown grocery bags colored red (I used this in my Crimean War diorama from "Lady of the Lamp" in 6th grade). Drape material over tripod of sticks for tent. 

Make shoebox dioramas for literature, science, history or social studies crafts. 

Free Printable Fantasy and Fairy Craft Activities

I'm personally very fond of fairies, sprites, nymphs, nyads, dryads, pixies and all manner of wee folk who live in the forest.  Here are dozens of free printable fairy craft activities to use in fantasy literature, art and social studies lesson plans.

Start with Rainbow Magic fairy stories created by a collection of authors writing under the pseudonym "Daisy Meadows." Rainbow Magic is illustrated by Georgie Ripper. There are several dozen Rainbow Magic fairy stories. Here are free printable Rainbow Magic fairy crafts.

Here are free printable coloring pages of fairies from literature such as Shakespeare. There are old school Tinker Bell images and pictures of the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. Here are more free printable fairy princess crafts and Medieval fantasy crafts with fairies. Here are free printable Barbie Fairytopia coloring pages. And you can't let an article about fairy crafts go to print without a nod to the greatest fairy of all Tinker Bell! No, don't get mad Tink, because the best is always saved for last! Here are free printable Tinker Bell and the Fairies of Pixie Hollow coloring pages.

Print a whole booklet of Tinker Bell, Barbie Fairytopia and Rainbow Magic activities to occupy a sick child or pass the time on a family car trip. Pack her a "Care-y Fairy Package," including printable booklet, crayons or markets, stickers, scissors, glue sticker and pencil. For extra fun, add some glitter (fairy gurus often refer to this as "pixie dust.") By the way, June 24 is Fairy Day!

Free Printable Geometry Lesson Plans from Sir Cumference

Children's literature author Cindy Neuschwander, with illustrator Wayne Geehan has written a math adventure series that is perfect for Pi Day on March 14. In the books, Sir Cumference, Lady Di of Ameter and their son Radius solve math problems, geometry puzzles and medieval mysteries. The name puns are only the beginning of the fun. Children learn about geometry, measurement, counting, algebra, formulas and math lesson plans in charming medieval fairy tales. 

The Sir Cumference books include: 

--Sir Cumference and the First Round Table (A Math Adventure) (1997) Lady Di of Ameter and her son Radius help Sir Cumference figure out the most user-friendly shape for the table to seat his knights for their meetings. Great exploratory book for understanding shapes, angles and geometry. 

--Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi (A Math Adventure) (1999) It's Radius and Lady Di of Ameter  to the rescue again to save Sir Cumference who has been eaten by the Dragon of Pi. By visiting the cooks in the kitchen Radius learns how the Greek term Pi works in geometry and uses it to solve this math riddle. Use this one for Pi Day!

--Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland (A Math Adventure) (2001) Radius goes off on a quest with Sir D'Grees to battle a Pair of Lells (dragons). In clever geometrical exploits, they teach math lesson plans on angles and measurement. 

--Sir Cumference and the Sword in the Cone (A Math Adventure) (2003) Again brave Radius, assisted by his friend Vertex learn about geometric solids and how to pull out the famous sword Edgecaliber from the cone. There are solid math lesson plans in this fun adventure. 

--Sir Cumference and the Isle of Immeter (A Math Adventure) (2006) Radius must help his cousin Per face down dragons and learn about geometry in a game called Inners and Edges, so that Per can rescue her kingdom and become Per of Immeter. Lady Di of Ameter and Sir Cumference lend a hand. 

--Sir Cumference and All the Kings Tens (A Math Adventure) (2009) Sir Cumference and his Lady Di of Ameter discover that when planning a birthday party for the King that using a base 10 counting system (or metric system) is the only way to count this growing crowd of guests. 

Here are some free lesson plans based on Cindy Neuschwander books. Teacher Vision has free printable Sir Cumference math lesson plans for Pi Day. Check Education World for a complete unit of free printable Pi Day activities, geometry worksheets and math lesson plans from Sir Cumference geometry books. Lesson Planet has many free printable geometry worksheets that are specific to Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi for Pi Day. Here's a site with free printable Sir Cumference lesson plans. Math Geek Mama has created loads of lesson plans on Sir Cumference books. She sells an activity book for each of the Cindy Neuschwander books and offers free printable geometry worksheets, games, activities and lesson plans from each. 

Free Printable Dr Seuss Recipes

Free Printable Dr Seuss Recipes Oobleck, Pink Yink Ink Drink. Dr. Seuss celebrates his birthday on March 2. We celebrate Dr. Seuss legacy of literature. Dr. Seuss's charming fable Bartholomew and the Oobleck is pure Seuss fun. Here are recipes to make oobleck with your children, homeschool or students.Dr Seuss recipes. For Pink Yink Ink Drink recipes, visit this blog. For more fun kids foods and recipes visit me at Great Food 4U (blogspot). For more kitchen science recipes, come see me at Kaboom! Fizzle! Pop! (blogspot)

Free Printable Dr Seuss Coloring Pages, Crafts, Activities

Celebrate 'Read Across America' and Dr. Seuss's birthday March 2, with free printable Dr.Seuss coloring pages, lessons, crafts, puzzles, games and activities.  Dr. Seuss coloring pages include the Grinch, the Lorax, the Sneetches, The Cat in the Hat, Horton and more Seuss friends.Homeschool Share has many free printable Dr. Seuss worksheets, coloring pages and activities.

Free printable Greek mythology, Percy Jackson and the Oympians

If you love Percy Jackson books, you'll want these free printable Greek mythology coloring pages. FantasyJr. has twelve free printable Greco-Roman coloring pages of the Olympians.  Karen's Whimsey has dozens of free printable mythology and Ancient Greece coloring pages. Color the Olympians, gods and goddesses, heroes, mythological monsters, beasts and creatures. Color free printable famous works of art featuring the Greek pantheon, Satyrs, Circe, the Sirens, Odysseus and many more characters from Greek mythology. Print coloring pages from ancient Rome, as well gods in Roman mythology.Coloring.ws has a complete free printable Greek mythology coloring pages on the Olympians of Ancient Greece. This site also contains free printable maps of Greece.

Tomie DePaola Christmas Kids Literature Activities

Christmas Kids Books--Have a Tomie DePaola Holiday Looking for the best Christmas stories and holiday books for children? Then have yourself a Tomie DePaola Christmas! Tomie DePaola is a one of the world's best-loved illustrator-authors in children's literature. Tomie DePaola admits that he loves Christmas and it shows in the holiday magic he imbues in his stories and art. Here's the definitive Tomie DePaola Christmas stories collection. Included are Advent books, too: Advent is the Catholic season of preparation leading up to Christmas and Tomie DePaola books indulge that spirit of anticipation. He's done a nice series on saints' feast day that fall in Advent.

"The Lady of Guadalupe" Hands-down best retelling of the story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Amercias, whose feast day, is December 12).

"The Legend of the Poinsettia" With no gift to offer the Bambino at Midnight mass, a little girl brings some flowers growing by the wayside, and a miracle occurs. It's similar to story in The Gift, by Aselin Debison

"The Night of Las Posadas" Posadas are parties celebrated during Advent in Mexico beginning nine days before Christmas as an Advent novena. They are similar to passion plays.

"Tomie DePaola's Make-Your-Own Christmas Cards" Tomie teaches you how to use your own artistic skill to make lovely holiday greeting cards.

"Get Dressed, Santa" Uh-oh, is Santa too tired to deliver the gifts this Christmas. Little children will love to help wake the sleepy elf. .

"Country Angel Christmas" Tomie DePaola specializes in angels. They peek out of every corner of his stories and nothing says Christmas like angels.

"Hark! A Christmas Sampler" Here's a delightful collection of Christmas songs, stories and fun from the Christmas man himself. Oh and there are Tomie DePaola Christmas recipes---there must always be recipes!

"Baby's First Christmas" Certain little grandchildren this author knows may find this in their stockings-shhh, don't tell.

"Tomie DePaola's Book of Christmas Carols" Here are all your favorite holiday tunes illustrated by Tomie DePaola

"The Night Before Christmas" Here is Clement C. Moore's timeless classic, DePaola style.

"The Friendly Beasts" This is a very satisfying retelling of the Welsh song and legend of the night the angels talked. Tomie DePaola's famous sheep figure heavily, but so do his other endearing animals.

"Merry Christmas, Strega Nona" Big Anthony goofs again-or does he? Can he really put one the Buon Natalia feast with no magic at Christmas?

"My First Christmas" This one is perfect for the wee ones' first holiday storybook.

"The Family Christmas Tree Book" Christmas deserve a family photo album, don't they? Here are holiday memories of Christmas trees past.

"The Legend of Old Befana" La Befana is the Italian equivalent to Russia's Baboushka, a woman too busy to stop for the baby Jesus and His guests.

"The Clown of God" Here's a haunting gestalt Medieval French tale of sacrifice and devotion.

"The Christmas Pageant" Tomie DePaola tells the nativity story.

"Sing Pierrot, Sing!" Okay, so perhaps not a Christmas story, but surely the old Italienne Comedie belongs with Christmas? Who can resist Harlequin and Columbine?

"An Early American Christmas" What was Christmas like for Jamestown pilgrims in a strange new world?

"Santa's Crash-Bang Christmas" Here's a very silly, noisy story that the littlest ones will love! "The Popcorn Book" This is not a Christmas book as such, but references are made to the holiday favorite popcorn balls and popcorn strung on Christmas trees. And popcorn and Christmas go together like Rudolph and red noses.

"Christmas Remembered" This is a tender, touching collection of holiday memories.

"Angels, Angels Everywhere" Tomie's angel shtick shows up again. His friendly cherubs crop up in the funniest places and remind us that angels are watching. That's much more comforting that Elf on a Shelf, don't you think.

"Guess Who's Coming for Santa's Dinner?" Poor Santa, he just wants to relax. But what do you do when Mama Santa invites all the relatives over for Christmas dinner? Children love imagining what Santa's relatives might be like.

Tomie has also written several lovely children's literature books for Jewish Chanukah. He's been illustrating books since 1965. Tomie originally published with Harcourt, Brace, Jovanvich, and now writes for G.P.Putnam's Sons, with many of his series books being published by Simon and Schuster. Some holiday children's literature books are published by Holiday House. This author and her children were privileged to meet Tomie DePaola in Muskegon, Michigan in 1993. Their autographed copy of "Strega Nona's Christmas" is a read each year. The oldest two children, now 27 and 25, remember it fondly and now there are grandchildren to pass it on to. Why not read a Tomie DePaola each night of Advent until Christmas and make your own memories. 

Free Printable Kevin Henkes Lesson Plans

Kevin Henkes has given the world of children's literature some wonderfully endearing stories. Most Kevin Henkes kids' books feature anthropomorphic mice facing typical issues that children face. Beloved Kevin Henkes characters include Sheila Rae the Brave, Chrysanthemum, Julius, Owen, Lilly, Chester, Wemberly and Wendell. His kids' book "Kitten's First Full Moon," won the coveted and prestigious Caldecott book medal for best illustrations in children's literature.

If you like this lovable children's literature author, you will want to visit his website and explore thefree printable Kevin Henkes book activities he's made based on some of his beloved characters. The website has free printable word games, puzzles and coloring pages. These are useful for summer enrichment activities, day care fun, children's literature lesson plans and homeschooling activities. Or parents might want to print them just for fun at home.

Kevin Henkes' publisher, Harper Collins has put some of the free printable activities on their website. You might like the free printable activity book for "Lilly's Big Day" Lilly eagerly awaits the best day of her life, being a flower girl in a wedding. She encounters the usual fears and drama. This activity book would be great follow-up or preparation for any event that your child is anticipating. Bibliotherapy, or problem-solving using literature is especially therapeutic for young or special needs children who struggle to find their own voice. Seeing a funny little mouse experience similar events and feelings is tremendously reassuring.

Lilly is the same mouse who so charmed with her purple plastic purse in the book of the same name. Scroll down the page here for all the Lilly and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse printables Teaching Heart has free printable "Wemberly Worried" and "Chrysanthemum" activities. There are lesson plans from the Kevin Henkes book "Owen" too. Read these books your kids, parents, and you'll see why everyone loves them so.

Free Printable Curious George Lesson Plans

Free Printable Curious George Lesson Plans and Party Activities Here are free printable spelling, reading, math and writing lessons, plus coloring pages all about our favorite little monkey, Curious George! These free printable activities are based on the original vintage Curious George books from my childhood, by H.A.Rey Margaret Rey! You can even print an entire Curious George party planner with decorations, invitations, coloring, crafts, games and activities,too! Click here

Free Printable City of Ember Lesson Activities

The "City of Ember" book series, by Jeanne DuPrau, (2003) is a science-fiction post-apocalyptic fantasy series loved by students and educators alike. Many elementary, intermediate and middle schools are incorporating City of Ember books into their classroom curriculum. With the release of a movie version students can read and study the books and follow up with the film version for comparison. Here are free printable City of Ember book activities, movie study guides and lesson plans.

The series chronologically is City of Ember, People of Sparks, Prophet of Yonwood and Diamond of Darkhold. Not all have been made into film so there are movie study guides only for City of Ember. But there are book activities for all books. Here are free printable lesson plans for teaching the City of Ember book series. Lesson Planet is a pay site with some free book activities to print. Here arefree printable City of Ember lesson plans. Scholastic also charges for many of their printables. But here is a City of Ember book discussion guide to print free. 

This free printable lesson plans kit includes story maps, worksheets, book activities, character webs, comprehension questions, movie study guides, vocabulary, grammar, symbolism, cause and effect, analysis and application questions, synthesis and evaluation questions, book activities, games, reading response rubrics, charts, quizzes and more. The City of Ember books are a dystopian series that tells of a people that has suffered depletion. They've gone underground, to re-emerge at a given time in the future. City of Ember is Orwellian science fiction, reminiscent of 1984, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Use book activities and movie study guides for units on science fiction.

Green Earth Lesson Plans: Dr. Seuss The Lorax

Dr. Seuss celebrates his birthday on March 2. We celebrate Seuss in March with National Reading Month and Read Across America. For good Seuss fun, why not read "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" and make oobleck What's Oobleck? It's Seuss for Goop-Slime-Silly Putty-Gak Splat-Flubber. Those are commercial names. But you can make your own. 

But watch out. Oobleck has a mind of its own as Bartholomew finds out (he's the lad who had hat trouble in Seuss's 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.") Here are oobleck recipes. Stretchy, noise putty Oobleck (fondly referred to by kids as "farting" putty.) Mix in zippered plastic bag, equal parts liquid laundry starch and white school glue. Liquid laundry starch is located with laundry supplies. A common brand is Sta-Flo. It's a light blue milky substance. Mix with fingers till glue is blended in and there is no tackiness. Kneading makes Oobleck rubbery and bouncy. Galactic glitter Oobleck. Give Oobleck a glam makeover. Add a little glitter to the noise putty recipe. This is the same recipe for Silly Putty or Flubber. Keep fresh in refrigerator stored in plastic bag. Glow in the Dark Oobleck. Make Halloween Oobleck by adding a little glow powder or luminescent fact paint to the Oobleck. Take it outdoors or shine a black light on it. Mystery oozing Oobleck: Blend small amounts of water in powdered cornstarch. The Oobleck moves back and forth between liquid and solid states of matter. It "melts" with warmth of your hands hardens as it cools. Touch and it melts. Like Bartholomew's oobleck it seems to have a life of its own. Mix directly on a table. Spills dry and vacuum up easily. Here are more science recipes and homemade art supplies made f

Free Printable Reading Response Journal Rubric

Looking for creative ways to teach reading or literature units? Use reading response journals. Here's a template to make student reading response journal. Use for English, ELA (English language arts), literature, reading and writing classes. Use for Readers Workshop (a popular interactive reading group method used in elementary and middle school). Here's the reading response journal format.

Give each student a single subject notebook (wireless notebooks work best). Use the same one for all lesson plans or start a new one for each unit or book genre study. In middle and high school, students should make separate response journals for longer books and more comprehensive literature studies. All written assignments are completed in this notebook (except a final project).

Create a blocked calendar chart, like a bingo card, with 5 columns and 5 rows of squares. Label columns with main components of ELA curriculum: reading, writing, speaking, listening and multisensory response. Label rows with higher order thinking skills (HOTS): Recall/Comprehension, Analysis (structure), Applications (text to text, text-to-life connections), Synthesis (text to new use), Evaluation (thoughts, feelings, opinions, rationale).

Write 25 literature response activities for a month or of assignments. List one assignment per box. Leave room to write in specifics. Photocopy (students complete similar activities for each book or genre studied). Attach to inside front cover of journal.

Tailor activities to state objectives, and student ability. Make it flexible enough for special needs accommodations and student learning styles, Give options. Let students choose 22 out of the 25 activities and do the last three for extra credit if desired. Students may complete assignments in any order. They can double up on slower days and skip assignments on busier days.

Each assignment should take 30 minutes to complete: two paragraphs of writing or 30 minutes of reading, speaking and listening. Assignments are completed in the notebook, labeled according by chosen activity and dated.

Initial completed activities in each box and note the points (in pen). Make notes or correction on the response page. Keep copies of each students chart for your records or keep digital copies. Each activity is worth 30 points: 18 points for content and quality, 7 for mechanics (spelling, punctuation and grammar), 3 for neatness/clarity, 1 for being on time (calculated at the end of the month) and 1 for proper labeling. (name, date, class, period),