Standard 3: Following Conventions

Students will explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the basics on how generative AI models use Large Language Models (LLMs) and Natural Language Processing NLP to generate outputs. This K-3 lesson is an integrated Computer Science, ELA and Math lesson designed for application of math and ELA content knowledge while exploring and using computational thinking to understand how generative AI works, making cross-curricular connections to understand emerging technologies.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will write about one of their responsibilities as a citizen at their school. In this lesson, students will discuss their role in contributing to a positive school community and create a class list of ways they can actively demonstrate their responsibilities. Students will then write a short explanation of one way that they can be a responsible member of their school community.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Little Red Hen is a classic folktale that children always enjoy. Students will be exposed to new vocabulary, identify story elements, and then write a paragraph retelling the story. There are certainly some important lessons learned by the characters in this folktale. Students will identify the moral of this story and add these lessons to their writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, students will fall in love with the engaging book Koala Lou by Mem Fox. Through several readings, the students will increase their comprehension of the text by identifying and describing story elements, learning new vocabulary, and thinking about the moral of the story. Students will use their imagination to rewrite the ending of the story wondering what would have happened if Koala Lou she did win the race.

Type: Lesson Plan

Did you know that chickens are amazing animals? You will after reading the book, From Egg to Chicken by Gerald Legg. Students will identify nonfiction text features, answer text-dependent questions, and sequence the life cycle of a chicken. They will then compose an expository piece of writing about what they've learned in during these reading lessons.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore different types of habitats and what animals need to live. This lesson begins with a read aloud of the text The Magic School Bus Hops Home: A Book about Animal Habitats and the class will collaboratively make an anchor chart about the diverse habitats we have on earth. Students will choose an animal to research and write an expository writing piece to share their learning. This research project will conclude with students showing their creativity by making a diorama of their habitat out of a shoebox.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, the students will analyze the poem "It Fell in the City" by Eve Merriam. They will read the poem, identify words or phrases that show feelings or appeal to the senses, describe the place in the poem and add drawings to express their feelings. They will also write an opinion paragraph about how the poem made them feel after reading it.

Type: Lesson Plan

During this reading lesson, students will analyze the text Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. The students will determine the moral or lesson of the story, be exposed to new vocabulary, and demonstrate knowledge about the character, Chrysanthemum. The students will choose one character trait of Chrysanthemum to write about using textual evidence. This writing can be attached to an art project celebrating this wonderful story about friendship and believing in yourself.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, students will work with the teacher and in cooperative groups to read and comprehend Faithful Elephants. Through multiple readings, the students will determine the meaning of words using context clues, discuss questions from the text, and explain the theme of the story by writing an expository paragraph.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will listen to readings of Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow. They will complete a story map, a character analysis, and answer discussion questions. Students will be led to understand the change that the character makes and the lessons learned. Students will write an expository text to respond to a prompt while demonstrating grade-appropriate grammar, conventions, and spelling.

Type: Lesson Plan

Your class will enjoy reading The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. Through several readings, the students will increase their comprehension of the text by focusing on the story elements, discussion questions, and by composing a personal narrative after making connections to their own lives.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the teacher will guide the students through two readings of Little Bear's Friend. Students will identify new vocabulary words, practice identifying story elements, and analyze characters in the story. For independent practice, students will write a letter responding to the letter written to Emily in the story.

Type: Lesson Plan

Your primary students will love this magical adventure with Possum Magic by Mem Fox. This wonderful Australian folktale shares delicious academic vocabulary that allows students to interact with context clues and discussion questions throughout the story. Students and teachers alike will be charmed by multi-tiered activities and extensions that will keep their interest throughout the entire lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Children will be delighted by the funny and sweet book, Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman. They will participate in discussions about what happens, retell the story through drawings, and participate in an activity to identify the main story elements of this book.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the teacher will guide the students multiple readings of Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel. This will be done as a read-aloud. Students will practice identifying story elements and learn new vocabulary words. For independent practice, students will retell this delightful story through writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will enjoy listening to Unlovable by Dan Yaccarino and think deeply about the moral of this story. In addition to participating in a story mapping activity, students will answer discussion questions about the story to gauge their comprehension and expand their vocabulary. This set of lessons will be concluded with students writing an opinion piece about Unlovable’s biggest lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will use details from the story It's Mine! by Leo Lionni to describe story elements, determine unknown words, and understand the moral or lesson of the text. This will be done with teacher support, in pairs, and by working independently. The lessons will conclude with a piece of opinion writing to show students’ perspective on the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, students will identify and describe story elements and retell the major events in the story Sheila Rae, the Brave by Kevin Henkes. Students will also identify the moral or the lesson learned in the story and write an opinion paragraph about the main characters as they explore the concept of bravery.

Type: Lesson Plan

During these lessons, students will read two stories: The Three Little Pigs by James Marshall and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Students will complete a variety of activities to help them identify the story elements and compare and contrast the two main characters of the story. Students will write an opinion piece explaining which version they think is the real version.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will use What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page to identify the main topic and relavant details. Students will complete a 3-2-1 card, a group poster and presentation, and an independent expository writing piece to demonstrate their new learning about some amazing animals.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the teacher will read the book Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne. Through separate readings of the book, students will identify new vocabulary and practice identifying story elements. For independent practice, students will retell the story by writing a narrative that offers a new and different solution to the main character's problem.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will be amazed by the book What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. This book will encourage students to ask questions about interesting animals and learn many new facts. For the summative assessment, students will gather additional information about their selected animal and write an expository paper.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, students will analyze two characters from the same book, Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie, and identify their similarities and differences. Students will compare themselves to one of the characters and write a paragraph describing their chosen character and how they are similar.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will be engaged with the adorably illustrated and written children's book, Mr. Duck Means Business. They will discuss the story elements, practice retelling it, and create an expository writing piece about how the main character changed from the beginning to the end of the book.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the students will listen to the teacher read aloud the fable The Tortoise and the Hare. The students will play a story cube game to record the story elements of the beloved fable, study the main characters, and write an opinion piece on which character they would be friends with and what they would do.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will learn about story elements as they describe the characters, settings, and events from Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin. Students will be dectectives as they use the text to help them learn new vocabulary words and have a chance to get creative as they write a new ending to the original story.

Type: Lesson Plan

After students read the delightful book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox, they will discuss the story elements and retell this tale. As the teacher guides the class through activities and discussion, students will learn about the significance of memories and the importance of friendship. The students will write an opinion piece about their definition of a memory.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this reading lesson, students will complete activities centered around the text, What Plants Need. Students will identify the topic and multiple details, answer discussion questions, and write an expository paragraph about what they have learned.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, the teacher and students will read the engaging book First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. They will identify and describe the story elements in the illustrations and text and analyze the author's use of specific words to suggest the main character's feelings. Students will write an opinion paragraph in response to a prompt about the book using text to support their opinion.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will practice identifying and using descriptive words in their writing. Students will use photographs and text to study the concept of using descriptive words in writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will participate in multiple readings of the text A Tree Is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla, They will complete a K-W-L chart about trees, answer text dependent questions in pairs, and learn about the parts of a paragraph when writing their own expository text. This paragraph will include a topic sentence, supporting details, and a conclusion. This lesson provides great background information and extension activities to support learning in science as well as reading!

Type: Lesson Plan

The teacher will read the stories The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle and Chameleons, Chameleons by Joy Crowley. Students will use the texts as research to answer and discuss the question, “What kind of habitat is good for chameleons?” Students will be assigned to write an expository response about a chameleon’s habitat and draw a habitat for a chameleon.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be able to identify and use descriptive words and phrases to write about various types of balls and marbles. Students will be able to work independently as well as in cooperative learning groups to transform "good" sentences into "great" descriptive sentences.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will complete a KWL chart about bears with a few bear hunts in between. After they learn about topics and details, they will read a book about bears. Using their knew knowledge they will write a five-sentence paragraph. This paragraph will contain a topic sentence, three facts, and a closing sentence. Students will be given a checklist to assess their work.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read the story Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes. Students will identify and discuss some of Wemberly's worries and share their opinion about them. The lesson will conclude with the students writing an opinion piece about Wemberly's school experience.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on using text features to understand nonfiction text, specifically the Scholastic News Nonfiction Reader: Helping Out by Peggy Hock. The students will examine the particular text features found within the text and will organize the information read in a concept map. They will then use the concept map to write an expository paragraph about ways we can protect Earth.

Type: Lesson Plan

This series includes two lessons focused on descriptive writing. Students will recognize the importance of descriptive words in writing by adding their own descriptive words and phrases to a basic sentence in order to enhance meaning and by engaging in a sorting activity containing descriptive and simple sentences. Then students will improve their writing by revising their previously written narrative pieces to include adjectives to add meaning and detail to their writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will learn about the important jobs of the community helpers in their city or neighborhood. After reading Whose Tools Are These? and Helpers in Your Neighborhood, they will write an expository paragraph about a helper of their choice.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will engage in questioning activities as they make predictions throughout the story Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel, using text evidence to support their predictions. Students will write an opinion response stating their prediction of what will happen at the end of another teacher-chosen story.

Type: Lesson Plan

This unit focuses on using text features to understand non-fiction text, specifically National Geographic Reader: Frogs! by Elizabeth Carney. The students will participate in a whole group activity where a portion of text will be analyzed for its topic and details and the teacher will write a paragraph about it using shared writing. The students will then apply the skills they learned as they create a topic and detail table and write an expository paragraph.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on describing characters using the story, Jamaica and Brianna, by Juanita Havill. The students will work in groups to bring a character to life by describing what the character said, did, thought, and felt. Students will then utilize these sketches to write a paragraph about the character.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will identify story elements. The students will also create a story map within a group and then work independently to write their own narrative using the story elements. They will edit and revise their narratives with a partner and after teacher conferencing.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is designed to teach students about adding description to their writing. They will be exposed to the word adjective as they practice adding descriptive words to enhance nouns in their writing to make it more exciting! Students will play a noun/adjective matching game and also complete descriptive paragraph with partner.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will classify matter by temperature. Students will explore and come to conclusions about the temperature (hot or cold) of matter. This lesson is Part 3 of a 4-lesson unit on the Properties of Matter.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will participate in various sequencing activities using a teacher selected text. With a partner, students will recall events from the text to complete a graphic organizer that outlines the beginning, middle, and end of the story being read. Students will independently sequence pre-selected pictures from the text and write sentences that describe the pictures.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson allows students to explore constellations, starting with Gemini. Students will learn about constellations and learn that there are more stars in the sky than anyone can easily count. Students will create a constellation of their own using the outline of their hand. At the end of the lesson, the students will understand that constellations can be viewed differently by others. A worksheet will be completed as a summative assessment.

This is part two of a two-part lesson series. Each lesson can be done independently.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will participate in reading the books,  A Mink, a Fink, A Skating Rink, To Root, to Toot, to Parachute, and Hairy, Scary, Ordinary and complete a variety of related activities that allow them to learn about and practice their knowledge of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Students will contribute to a class generated grammar chart and complete a grammar sort. Students will also publish their own sentence which will include a noun, verb, and adjective, as well as an illustration to provide detail.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will use biographies to research individuals important to American history. The students will then create "Clue Bags" based on relevant details about the different individuals to present to the class with the question, "Who Am I?" Additionally, the students will use the relevant details selected for the "Clue Bags" to write an expository paragraph about their selected individual.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will present their opinion through drawing, writing and speaking. Students will enjoy discussing their favorite animals, pizza and cake. Students will learn about self-expression and the different ways to present their opinion.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will describe the physical appearance, actions, and feelings of the character David from the story David Goes to School by David Shannon. This is the third lesson in a unit about characters. The other lessons in the unit have been attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will learn how to make their sentences descriptive and more engaging. They will transform generic sentences into detailed and distinctive statements that allow the reader to visualize what the author wants us to "see." After writing descriptive sentences about an animal, the students will fill out a peer editing form, revise their writing, and play a guessing game.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this resource, students will form an opinion based on facts in a text. The text used is A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David A. Adler. Students will identify facts from the text and form and share opinions about each fact.

Type: Lesson Plan

For this lesson, students will compare and contrast two different animals presented in two separate informational texts on the topic of Grassland Animals. Students will demonstrate their understanding of the similarities and differences in Venn diagram and through a written response.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this resource, students will practice identifying and describing the actions of a character. Teachers will model these skills through use of text and pictures from the story No, David! by David Shannon. Students will conduct guided practice through use of David Gets in Trouble, also by David Shannon. Students will then draw a picture and write a sentence to describe one of David's actions from the story. This is the first lesson in a unit of three lessons about characters. The other lessons are attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this resource, students will practice identifying and describing the feelings of a character based on events in a story. The teacher will model these skills and conduct guided practice with students using No, David! by David Shannon. The teacher will then read aloud David Gets in Trouble, also by David Shannon, and students will independently write a sentence to describe David's feelings during one of his actions in the story. This is the second lesson in a unit of three lessons about character. The other lessons are attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will work with two texts, Starfish by Edith Thacher Hurd and Discovering Starfish by Lorijo Metz. As they learn facts about starfish, they will also discuss an important text feature that readers use. Students will write an expository paragraph about starfish to culminate their learning.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be engaged with the story The City Mouse and the Country Mouse and see what happens when the mice visit each other’s homes. Students will take part in a discussion about the characters, setting, and the major events of the story. They will be asked to take the perspective of the City Mouse and write a letter of complaint about how visiting the countryside was just not a good thing to do. There are also several opportunities in these lessons for students to practice grade appropriate conventions of writing including ending punctuation and capitalization.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on using text features to understand nonfiction text, specifically the National Geographic Reader: Polar Bears, by Laura Marsh. The students will use a text features anchor chart to support student understanding of how these features contribute to the meaning of a text. Students will read and take notes to answer specific questions about the text and use those notes to write a paragraph about polar bears.

Type: Lesson Plan

Join Cal as she builds and deodes words with the inflectional edning -ed pronounced /d/ in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Build words by adding the ending -ed to words that end in consonant -y and vowel -y with Cam and Cal the construction workers in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Cam the builder invites you to decode words with the ending -ed pronounced /t/ in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Help Cam and Cal as they build and decode words with the ending -ed pronounced /id/ for their Construction Company with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Help Cal and Cam learn about adding the ending -ing to words that end in the letter -y as they continue to build the giraffe sanctury in this interactive tutorial.

This is part 2 in a three-part series. Check out the other tutorials in the series below.

• Open Part 1: Building with Cam and Cal: Adding ing to Short Vowel Words
• Open Part 2: Building with Cam and Cal: Adding -ing to words ending in the letter -y
• Open Part 3: Building with Cam and Cal: Adding -ing to vowel teams ee and ea

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Help Cam and Cal learn how to add the inflectional ending -ing to short vowel words as they begin to build a giraffe sanctuary in this interactive tutorial.

This is part 1 in a three-part series. Check out the other tutorials in the series below.

• Open Part 1: Building with Cam and Cal: Adding ing to Short Vowel Words
• Open Part 2: Building with Cam and Cal: Adding -ing to words ending in the letter -y
• Open Part 3: Building with Cam and Cal: Adding -ing to vowel teams ee and ea

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Help Cam and Cal build words with the inflectional ending of -es to nouns and verbs that end in consonant -y, in this interactive tutorial.

This is part 3 in a four-part series. Click below to open the other tutorials in this series.

• Part 1: Building Plural Nouns with -s and -es
• Part 2: Adding –s and –es to Verbs
• Part 3: Adding -es to Consonant –y words
• Part 4: Adding -s to vowel –y nouns and verbs

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Capitalize holidays, product names, and names of places around the world as you hunt for treasure in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how to identify special words called prepositions that help you describe where a person or object is located. By the end of this interactive tutorial, you should also be able to use these special words to complete simple sentences.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this activity, students will make sentences using selected words.

Type: Student Center Activity

In this activity, students will arrange groups of words to make sentences. Then they will illustrate the sentences they created.

Type: Student Center Activity