This site contains links to lesson plans and resources for children's literature (grades K-6). Since there is considerable overlap between authors and titles for children and adolescents, go to my site for adolescent literature if you do not find what you need on this page. All links on this page were checked and updated 10-9-07.

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Index: Sources for Many Children's Literature Lesson Plans; Multicultural Children's Literature Lesson Plans; Children's Literature Resources; Folk & Fairy Tales; Specific Children's Books  (Listed Alphabetically by Title: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - XYZ); Lesson Plans for Drama, Mythology, and Poetry; Rubrics for the Language Arts; Return to Educational Resources and Lesson Plans; Go to the International Reading Association

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Sources for Lesson Plans for Multiple Children's Books:
Literature Activities from A to Z Teacher Stuff
A huge collection of lesson ideas for teaching with children's literature. The site is indexed by book title.

Can Teach: Specific Novel & Picture Book Activities
Another collection of activities for many specific children's books.

Harper Collins Reading Group Guides
Guides for nineteen children's books.

Index to Internet Sites: Children's and Young Adults' Authors & Illustrators
This exceptional site offers an alphabetical index to sites for a very large number of children's authors. Many of the author sites include lesson plans.

Children's Books
Many lesson plans from Mr. Donn organized alphabetically.

Literature Lesson Plans and Units from Scholastic
Lesson plans, activities, reproducibles, and thematic units.

Children's Literature and U.S. History
Good source for lesson plans and children's books integrating literature and history.

Online Elementary Economics Lessons
Many lesson plans integrating children's literature and economics.

The Civil War
An upper-elementary or middle grade unit using trade books to integrate history and literature.

World War II as Seen Through the Eyes of Children's Literature
An elaborate unit.

American Children's Literature
A collection of 12 units (including the one immediately above) from the Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute.

Children's Literature in the Classroom
Ten more units from the Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute.



Multicultural Children's Literature Lesson Plans
Discussing Immigration Through Literature
A unit on Asian-American immigrants using the following books: Coming to America , Betsy Maestro; The Lotus Seed, Sherry Garland; and Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say.  

Changing Borders
Similar to the above, but examining emigration form Europe as well as Asia, this unit uses Coming to America by Betsy Maestro, How Many Days To America by Eve Bunting, and The Long Way To A New Land by Joan Sandin.

Reading Across the Cultures
Ten units from the Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute.

Examining African-American Culture Through the Use of Children’s Literature
A 3rd-grade unit plan.

Literature and art Through Our Eyes: The African American Children
An elementary unit from the Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute.  

Teaching Responsibility to Children in Different Cultures through Film and Literature Stories
An elementary unit from the Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute.  

An Integrated Unit on Friendship Implementing Asian-American Children's Literature
A unit integrating Asian-American children's literature and the theme of friendship.

Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through Children’s Literature
An elaborate unit plan with three sample lesson plans and a bibliography.

Expanding Fifth Grade Ethnic Awareness Through Literature
A unit on Native American and Latino literature from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

Rainbow Reading: Gay and Lesbian Characters and Themes in Children's Books
An annotated bibliography. See also Books for and About Gay/Lesbian Teens and Youth and Resources for Educators.

American Girls Through Time and Trial
An elementary unit focusing on women of different cultures, races, and religions. It includes three books featuring diverse American women from specific time periods. For nine similar units, go to American Maid: Growing Up Female in Life and Literature.  

Native-American Bedtime Story Collection
Native-American stories with background information and links to related sites.

Native American Children's Literature in the Classroom: An Annotated Bibliography

Children's Literature Resources
Children's Books from About.com
Though this page is designed primarily for children, it is an excellent resource with featured books and authors as well as information on books of nearly all topics and genres.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
Great site for reviews and ideas for teaching with children's literature. Click on curriculum areas for links to sites connecting children's literature with other subjects.

Index to Internet Sites: Children's and Young Adults' Authors & Illustrators
This exceptional site offers an alphabetical index to sites for a very large number of children's authors. Many of the author sites include lesson plans.

Aesop's Fables
An online collection!

Literature Circles Projects
An excellent site providing information on using literature circles in the classroom.

Webtime Stories
Interactive children's stories with graphics and sound.

Vandergrift's Children's Literature Page
An excellent resource with bibliographies and links to sites on topics related to children's literature, including
censorship.

Author Biographies
Biographies of some favorite authors of children's books.

Children's Literature Web Guide
Links to children's literature sites.


Folk and Fairy Tales
Traditional Literature: Lesson Plans
A huge collection of lesson plans on tall tales, myths and legends, folktales, fables, and nursery rhymes.

Fairy Tales from Around the World
A K-2 lesson plan from EDSITEment. See also Fables and Trickster Tales Around the World for a lesson plan for grades 3-5.

Fairy Tales Unit Ideas
Ideas for an interdisciplinary unit.

Elements of Folk Tales
An excellent middle-grade lesson plan from ArtsEdge.

Tales to Live By
A 1st-grade unit in pdf format from Core Knowledge that uses fairy tales as a tool to introduce basic values. See also All About Aesop and Life's Lessons: Aesop's Fables for additional 1st-grade units from Core Knowledge.

Folktales
A collection of 12 units.

Paul Bunyon
A lesson plan for grades 4-5.

Puerto Rican Folktales
A unit for grades 7-12.

A Moroccan Fairy Tale vs. European Folk/Fairy Tale
A 2nd-grade lesson plan examining similarities and differences between The Girl Who Lived with the Gazelles , an African folk tale from Morocco, and Snow White. See African Folktales for seven similar lesson plans.

An Integrated Unit on Classic Philippine Folk Tales About Fruits
A unit from TASSI .

Lesson Plans for Specific Children's Books (Listed Alphabetically by Title):
A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - XYZ   If the book or author for which you are looking is not listed here, please try The Doucette Index, Literature Activities from A to Z Teacher Stuff, Can Teach: Specific Novel & Picture Book Activities, Random House Teacher's Resource Center, S.C.O.R.E CyberGuides, The Gateway, Web English Teacher - Children's Literature, or Harper Collins Reading Group Guides

A
Alice in Wonderland
This lesson plan titled "Childhood through the Looking Glass" for grades 6-12 from The National Endowment for the Humanities' EDsitement pages explores the vision of childhood created by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland . See also Alice in Wonderland, a lesson plan using The Discovery Channel's video; Senses, Spaces And Structure, an elaborate 7th-grade unit using Alice in Wonderland and two other works to explore space and architecture; and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a page containing the 1928 commentary on Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass .

Amazing Grace
A lesson plan for grades K-3 using this book by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch.  See also How About a Hand? for another K-2 lesson plan for this book from Learning to Give.

Amelia Bedelia
A 2nd or 3rd-grade lesson plan using Peggy Parish's book. See also What Are Idioms? for a 4th to 6th-grade lesson plan utilizing this same book, Amelia Bedilia (Persuasive Writing) for another elementary lesson plan,.

Animalia
An intermediate-grade lesson plan in which students use this book by Graeme Base to help them write poems. See also Create an Alphabet Book for another lesson plan using this book.

Annie and the Old One
A teacher CyberGuide with lessons and Internet-based activities for this book by Miska Miles.   

Learn to Read with Arthur
Many activity sheets and online activities from pbskids.org. For lesson plans as well as information about the author, see the Marc Brown Teacher Resource File.

B
Baseball In April & Living Up The Street
A Score CyberGuide unit on these works by Gary Soto for grades 6-8.

A Bear Called Paddington
Study Guide, activities, and questions for grades 2-6 for this book by Michael Bond.  

Be Good to Eddie Lee
This lesson plan for 1st or 2nd grade titled "Dealing with Differences" uses Virginia Fleming's Be Good to Eddie Lee   to help teach tolerance of students with disabilities. It is part of a unit titled " Differences: Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature. "

Ben and Me
A CyberGuide with a 5th-grade unit for this book about Ben Franklin by Robert Lawson. For a modified version of this unit, click here.  

The Best School Year Ever
A "Literature Guide" with questions and activities for this book by Barbara Robinson.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Printable questions, activities by chapter, and lesson plans for a unit about this book by Barbara Robinson.

Boxcar Children Dictionary
An elementary-grade activity. See also Mystery Unit Plan, which uses this book along with The Westing Game, and Boxcar Children for several vocabulary worksheets and comprehension pages.

Point of View and Unreliable Narrators with The Boy Trap
A 3rd to 5th-grade lesson on Nancy Matson's book. Go to Nancy Matson's Website for information about the author as well as more lesson plans. See also The Root and Application of Prejudice with The Boy Trap for another lesson plan for grades 3-5.

The Bracelet
A 5th-grade lesson plan integrating language arts and the social studies using this book by Yoshiko Uchida. Scroll past the end of this lesson for other lesson plans related to Japanese-American internment during WW II. Click here for another 5th-grade lesson plan using this book to connect children's literature and the visual arts.

Bridge to Terabithia
A lesson plan for grades 3-5 using this book by Katherine Paterson.  See also Bridge to Terabithia: Lesson Plan, Activities, and Reading Guide and  Bridge to Terabithia: Student Study Guide.

By the Great Horn Spoon
A Cyberguide with lessons and activities for this book by Sid Fleischman.  

C
Caddie Woodlawn
An Internet-based grade 5 unit on this famous book by Carol Ryrie Brink.  

The Call of the Wild
A junior high school lesson plan from Web English Teacher for Jack London's famous novel. See their Jack London page for more lessons and activities, See also Jack London Homework Help for links to articles, study guides, and writing guides as well as Jack London's Call of the Wild: "Nature Faker" for middle-grade lesson plan from EDSITEment.

Catherine Called Birdie
A Cyberguide with lesson ideas and web-based activities for this book by Karen Cushman.   See also School House Teachers' Guides to find additional ideas for teaching about this book and others by Karen Cushman.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A chocolate-making activity to accompany a read-aloud of this book by Roald Dahl.   For another lesson plans using this book, see Welcome to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (an Internet-based elementary lesson plan).

Charlottes Web
A unit plan from Schlastic for this famous book by E.B. White. See also Predicting with Charlotte's Web for another unit and SCORE CyberGuide Activities one, two, three, and four.  

Holiday Rhyming Lesson Using the Christmas Tree Tangle
A lesson plan for grades 1-3.

Cinderella Stories
Internet resources and teaching ideas from the Children's Literature Web Guide. For the text of 15 Cinderella variants, click here.  

Searching for Cinderella
A lesson for grades 5-8 involving the study of various versions of Cinderella   The lesson could also be adapted for younger students. See also One Story Many Tales for an ESL lesson plan.

Cinderella Lesson Plan
A lesson plan comparing three versions of Cinderella.

Cap o' Rushes
An intermediate or junior high lesson on this English Cinderella variant, Cap o' Rushes.

Cinderella Trilogy
A lesson plan for grades 3-4 comparing fairy tales from different cultures. Also, go to The Story of Tam and Cam , a Cinderella story from Vietnam.

The Rough-Faced Girl
A 4th-gradelesson plan on yet another Cinderella variant. This one, titled The Rough-Faced Girl and written by Rafe Martin, is based on an Algonquin Indian story.

Comparing Cultures
A lesson plan for grade 1-5 using Shirley Climo's The Egyptian Cinderella.

Tattercoats Lesson Plan
An elementary or junior high lesson plan on Cinderella variants. Also, see The Cinderella Project for a text and image archive containing a dozen English versions of the fairy tale.

The Princess and the Golden Shoes
A lesson plan for the middle grades or junior high school for this Scottish Cinderella variant.

Counting Wildflowers
A primary-grade lesson plan integrating literature and math, using this book by Bruce McMillan.

Curious George in the Snow
A kindergarten lesson plan. For other lessons, see  Curious George Goes to the Beach, Curious George Rides a Bike, and Pizza Party People.  

D
Dateline: Troy
A review as well as discussion topics and teaching ideas for this book by Paul Fleischman.  

The Day of the Dinosaur
An elaborate lesson plan on dinosaurs using this book by S. & J. Berenstain. Click here for other lesson plans on dinosaurs. Also, scroll down the page to Dinotopia and Dinosaurs of Long Ago.

Tomie DePaola: Teacher Resource File
A biography, links, and nine lesson plans.

Dear Mr. Henshaw
A CyberGuide for teaching with this book by Beverly Cleary.  See also Dear Mr. Henshaw Literature Guide.

The Desert Is Theirs
A lesson plan for grades 3-5. Also, take a look at the Desert is Theirs CyberGuide and the Teacher Resource File for Byrd Baylor. For a 6th-grade unit on deserts, click here.  

Diary of Anne Frank (Anne Frank in the World, 1929-1945: Teacher Workbook)
Lesson plans for grades 5-8 for teaching about Anne Frank and Holocaust-related subjects. See also Anne Frank: One in Hundreds of Thousands, another middle school lesson plan; Anne Frank Intro, yet another middle school lesson plan;   Anne Frank WebQuest, an excellent Internet activity for grades 7-9;  an excellent resource; Anne Frank: Her Life and Times, photographs and information about Anne's journal and how it survived World War II; and Cybrary of the Holocaust, a comprehensive site with images and recollections of survivors, a teacher's guide, and links.

Dinosaur Babies, Fossils, and Make Your Own Dinosaur
An elementary lesson plan that would go well with the book, Digging Up Dinosaurs and Fossils of Long Ago. by Aliki.  

Dinotopia
This is the official Jim Gurney Dinotopia site. Use the pull-down menu on the right to access the Teacher's Resource Page. Also see Gurneytopia for a preview of his new book, The World of Dinosaurs . Click here for lesson plans on dinosaurs.

Lesson Plans on Dr. Seuss Books
Dr. Seuss
K-2 cross-curricular activities for 15 Dr. Seuss books.
The Dr. Seuss Page for Teachers
Information and teaching activities for 4 Dr. Seuss books, including The Cat in the Hat .
Green Eggs and Ham
A K-2 lesson plan for this book titled "Reading Everywhere with Dr. Seuss."
My Many Coloured Days
A synopsis and a primary-level activity.
Phonics with Dr. Seuss
A grade 1 lesson plan using One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.
Teaching Phonograms through The Sneetches
Another grade 1 lesson plan.
Oh, the Places You'll Go
A discrete math lesson plan for grades 6-9 using this book.

See also Dr. Seuss @ Web English Teacher and Literature-Based Lesson Plans and Resources Using Dr. Seuss's Books.

E
The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig
A unit plan from the UN Refugee Agency for grades 6-8 using this book to tell the story of how East European refugees and deportees lived in Russia during World War II. Also, take a look at World War II As Seen Through Children’s Literature, an extensive unit, and read a synopsis, reviews, and a brief author biography from Amazon.com.  

Escape From Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom
A teacher's guide for this book by Doreen Rappaport and No Turning Back by Beverly Naidoo.  

F
Families are Different
Kindergarten-level activities for this book by Nina Pellegrini. For other lesson plans and units on families, click here.  

Feelings
A 3rd-grade activity for this book by Aliki integrating technology and literacy.

Come Fly With Me
An elementary lesson using the book A Fly Went By.

Freedom Train
An intermediate-grade unit based on Dorothy Sterling's historical novel.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E, Frankweiler.  
A CyberGuide on E. L. Konigsburg's Newbery Medal-winning book. 

From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: Social Dilemmas
More teaching ideas for Konigsburg's book.

G
A Gift for Mama
A lesson plan integrating literature and economics based on this book by Esther Hautzig. For many other similar lesson plans, go to Online Elementary Economics Lessons.  

The Giving Tree
A lesson plan on apple trees using this book by Shel Silverstein. See also Character Education - Giving for another lesson plan for this book.

The Goat in the Rug: An Economics and Literature Lesson
A lesson plan for grades 1-3 using this children's book. Click here for other Native American stories.

Good Night Moon
A kdg unit for this book by Margaret Wise Brown.  

Goosebumps in the Classroom
Lesson ideas from Education World for using R. L. Stine's Goosebumps books. 

Grandfather's Journey
A brief summary and lesson ideas from Scholastic for this book by Allen Say. See also Grandfather's Journey Teacher CyberGuide and Discussing Immigration Through Literature, a unit using this book and two others.

Grandfather Tang's Story
An upper-elementary, literature based math activity involving manipulation of geometric figures for teaching with this book by Ann Tompert.

The Great Pancake Escape
A teachers' guide for this book by Paul Many complete with a summary, reviews, background information, and many suggested teaching activities.

The Grouchy Lady Bug
Many lesson plans and activities for this book by Eric Carle.  

H
Virginia Hamilton
Information, links, and lesson plans for teaching with the books of this Newbery Medal-winning author.

Harriet and the Garden
A 1st-grade lesson plan using Nancy Carlson's book.

Harry Potter
Many Harry Potter lesson plans, activities, and resources. See also Scholastic's Harry Potter Page, J. K. Rowling Teacher Resource File, J.K. Rowling @ Web English Teacher, The Harry Potter Home Page, and What's All the Fuss About Harry Potter? For literature guides for individual Harry Potter books, see Harry and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  

The Hobbit
An extensive unit from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. See also Literature: The Hobbit Banquet. Click here for a J. R. R. Tolkien Teacher Resource File.

Holes, By Louis Sachar
A unit for grades 6-12.  See also Holes by Louis Sachar - Teacher Pages for chapter summaries designed for use with grades 3-6. For information on Sachar, go to Louis Sachar Teacher Resource Page.

The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
Teacher's Guide from Vintage Books. Click here to access a Teacher's Resource File with other lesson plans for this author. Also, see Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through Children’s Literature.  

From Fractions to Percentages with A Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
A lesson plan for grades 4-6 integrating math and literature.

I
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
A CyberGuide with ideas for using this book about an immigrant Chinese girl by Bette Bao Lord. See also Crossing the Border, A Study of Immigration Through