Bookinitat50: LIT & Library Lesson Plans

LIT & Library Lesson Plans - EXCELLENT!

Literature Lesson Plans

This site is maintained by Linda Bertland, retired school librarian, Philadelphia, PA. Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to info@sldirectory.com or go to: http://www.sldirectory.com/
Picture of reader from Discovery School

Literature Units - Web Sites

General Literature and Lesson Plan Sites

Thinkfinity - Searchable site with literature lesson plans.
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Web Site - This site is filled with activities for teaching literature especially in the content areas.
Read, Write, Think - Lesson plans for language arts from the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English.
Lesson Plans for Childrens' Books - by Mrs. Donn.
Teachers@Random - Teaching guides from Random House. This site has a monthly calendar which will help you to choose books related to seasonal events. There are also author biographies and lists of award winning books.
Lesson Plans from Scholastic - There are many lesson plans from Scholastic Publishers. There are also Graphic Organizers for reading comprehension and records of books read.
Literature Learning Activities - Literature lesson plans with Internet links. There are activities for Newbery and Caldecott winners in addition to popular children's books.
Learn North Carolina - Search for literature lesson plans or take a look at their Best of the Web for links to many literature sites.
Reading Fun - Many ideas for reading projects from Education World.
Books for Children and Young Adults - Links to literature and reading promotion web sites. A part of the Resources for School Librarians web site.
The Web English Teacher - Lots and lots of ideas for using literature.
Crayola Lesson Plans - If you wish to incorporate a craft activity into your reading or library research, this is a useful site.
Best Books for Students and Classroom Teaching Themes - Books on an elementary level which will go with classroom themes such as holidays, science, sports, and many others. This may also help you to find books for reading aloud. This is from Education World.
How to Write a Children's Book Lesson Plan - For early elementary grades. This is by Peggy Epstein on eHow.

Book Reports

Choosing the Right Book - Strategies for beginning readers (grades K - 2). This lesson plan is from ReadWriteThink.
Collection of Book Report Ideas - 109 ideas from Barbara D. Martin.
Book Report Makeover Archive - Are you tired of the same old book reports? Here are some new ideas from Education World.
Book Reports - Lots of ideas from the Web English Teacher web site.
25 Book Report Alternatives - From Scholastic.
Fresh Ideas for Book Reports - From Education World.
Sundae of the Week - Students create a picture of an ice cream sundae to describe their book. This plan is by Kellie Hayden.
Book Cover Creator - A site where students may create book covers for the books which they have read. There are also lesson plans and instructions for use.
Book Trailers for Readers - A new way to present book reports. You may also need to watch How to Make a Book Trailer
Book Report Forms - From ABC Teach.
Reading Printables - Book report forms, reading logs, and other reading related materials from the Busy Teacher's Corner.
Reading Forms - Book report forms including forms specifically for genre books.

Fables, Folktales, Fairy Tales

Once Upon a Time: Lessons for Teaching about Fables, Fairy Tales, Folktales, Legends, Myths, Tall Tales - From Education World.
Folktales and Fairy Tales - Lesson plans from Learn NC.
Fairy Tales and Folktales - Links to lesson plans and literature sites by Web English Teacher.
Folk and Fairy Tales - Lesson Plans from ProTeacher.
Folk Tales and Fairy Tales - Lesson plans from A to Z Teacher Stuff.
Twice Upon A Time: A Multicultural Cinderella Unit - Cindrella stories from many nations. From Ask Asia.
Tall Tales - Teaching ideas and related web sites from 42 eXplore.
Fairy Tales - Mainly worksheets from abc Teach

Genres

Genre Studies: A Collaborative Approach - For gds. 3 - 5. From ReadWriteThink.
Guess the Genre - An elementary lesson plan from Learn NC.
Learning About Fiction Genres in the Elementary School Library. - This is an article from Bright Hub.
Science Fiction - For grades 6 - 8.
Science Fiction Lesson Plans - From Lesson Planet.
Fantasy and Science Fiction - Teaching ideas and related web sites from 42 eXplore
Raising Dragons - This is an introductory lesson in the elements of fantasy. It is based on the book Raising Dragons by Jerdine Nolan.
Teaching Mysteries - Lesson plans from MysteryNet.
Mystery - Teaching ideas and related web sites from 42 eXplore.
Historical Fiction Genre Study - from Scholastic.
Historical Fiction Timeline - Link reading to social studies. This is a lesson plan for all grades from Education World.
Teaching the Horror Genre - This site has links to lesson plans. a horror handout, and horror discusssion questions. This site is by J. B. Benet.
Genre Studies - Teachers report ideas they have used for teaching genres.
Genre Definitions - From the California Department of Education.
YA Genres - Good for definitions.

Literature Circles, Book Talks, and Storytelling

Literature Circles Resource Guide - by the College of Education, Seattle University.
Booktalks - Quick and Simple - by Nancy Keane
Book Talks - for Scholastic books.
Digital Booktalks - Maybe your students would like to do a digital booktalk.
Eleven Good Digital Storytelling Resources - by Free Technology for Teachers.
Story Arts - How to tell stories. There are also lesson plans.
Effective Storytelling - A manual for beginners by Barry McWilliams.
Have You Heard the Word? For a low-budget way to get kids wild about reading, try readers theater. - An article by Avi in School Library Journal, Dec., 2009.
Reading Aloud - Articles on the benefits of reading aloud to students. You might want to share these with your teachers. From Education World.
Reader's Theater: A Reason to Read Aloud - An introduction to reader's theater.

Poetry

Poetry Lesson Plans - Many plans for using poetry for all grades from Education World.
Poetry Lesson Plans - From Teachnology.
Poetry Teachers.Com - Many ideas for teaching poetry.
Poetry Lesson Plans - from The Teacher's Guide.
National Poetry Month - Celebrate this event in April. This site is by the Academy of American Poets.
The Poetry Foundation -This site will help you to find poems by subject, title, author, and a number of other criteria.
Poetry Worksheets - These are mainly for acrostic forms. From ABC Teach.
Acrostic Creator - Online tool and lesson plans to help students create acrostic poems.
Diamante Poems - An online tool for creating diamante poems, and lesson plans which may be used even if you do not want to go online.

Nonfiction

5-Day Unit Plan for Introducing Nonfiction - This is for grades 2 - 4. This unit is from Scholastic.
Fiction vs Nonfiction - Lesson plans and printables from Scholastic.
Lighthouses - A unit for gds. 3-5 for teaching the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
Biography and Autobiography Lesson Plans - From Web English Teacher.
Building on Biographies - Ten ways to teach biographies from Education World.
Literature and Math Converge in Storyville - Second grade students read books and then make up math problems based on the book.
Nonfiction Booktalking Tips - by Kathleen Baxter.

Plans for Special Subjects

Back to School Books - Suggested books for teachers and librarians to read on the first day of school. From Education World.
Celebrate Children's Book Week - Many lessons here are good for any time of the year.
The Holiday Zone - This site has booklists, craft ideas, worksheets, and other materials for holidays and seasons.
December Holidays - Ideas from Education World.
Black History Month - Reading ideas and resouces from Reading Rockets.
Holiday Resources from September to June - a great list by media specialist Julie Grelier.

Elementary Level

Texas Librarian - "Connecting Books, Reading Strategies and Lesson Plans for PreK-5 Librarians". This site also has nice lists of titles for the months of the year.
Book Related Printables - Links to sites for printable activities for mainly early elementary level books. From the BookLoons web site.
Children's Book Breaks - Craft ideas, bookmarks, and writing paper templates for early elementary children's books such as Arthur, Clifford, and others.
Picture Book Lesson Plans - From Grand View Public Schools.
Reading Rockets - a project to promote reading by early elementary age students. It is a collaboration between PBS and just about every other group concerned with early literacy. There is a section for librarians which may be found on the menu choice For Other Professionals. There are also a large number of articles - some with teaching activities.
Recent Read Alouds from the Grand View Elementary School Library - A year's worth of read alouds for grades 1 - 5.
Themes - From A to Z Teacher Stuff. There are activities for holidays, weather, back to school, authors, and more.
Caldecott Connections - List of winners and teaching ideas from Eduscapes.
Teaching Caldecott Winners - Some ideas from Scholastic.
Newbery Award Reading Project - For grades 5 and up.
The Wolf in Children's Books - For grade 3. Students learn the definitions of protagonist and antagonist, and also research wolves in nonfiction books. From Learn NC.
Puppets at Your Library - An introduction to their use.

Secondary Level

Literature Lesson Plans - From Discovery School. Most of these are on a high school level.
AdLit - All about adolescent literacy. This site is for teachers and parents of students in grades 4 - 12. There are sections on classroom strategies, and videos so that you can see these strategies in action.
Books R4 Teens - Book summaries, teaching ideas, related media and texts, and links to related web sites. This site is by the University of Texas at Austin.
Teen Read Week - in October.

Children's Books and Technology

The iPad Meets the Children's Book - An article by Karen Singer in Publisher's Weekly.
Ten iPad Apps Based on Classic Children's Books - An article By Dianna Dilworth on June 22, 2011.
Best of Children's Book iPad Apps 2010 - From the Kirkus Reviews.
Digital Storytime - Reviews of Children's book apps.
Reading 2.0 - a wiki on reading and book promotion.

Miscellaneous

Page by Page: Creating a Children's Book - This excellent site takes you step by step through the creation of the book Zoom Upstream, written by Tim Wynn-Jones and illustrated by Eric Beddows. The site visitor will learn how the author got his ideas, how the illustrator drew the pictures, and how the publishing company prepared the manuscript for publication. By the National Library of Canada.
Leaves of Gold - An introduction to medieval illustrated manuscripts. The Learning Center has teaching ideas. This site is by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.