Skip to main content

Content Finder

Content type
Topic
Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

Discover some simple hands-on activities and games that can be done at home or in the backyard to help your child develop a deeper understanding of cause and effect — and strengthen reading comprehension and scientific inquiry skills.

3 elementary students writing on flip chart in social studies unit

Content Area Literacy: Individualizing Student Instruction in Second-Grade Science

This study describes a second-grade science curriculum designed to individualize student instruction so that students, regardless of initial science and literacy skills, gain science knowledge and reading skills. The instruction incorporates flexible, homogeneous, literacy skills-based grouping, use of leveled science text, and explicit use of discussion and comprehension strategies.
Creating Bar Graphs

Creating Bar Graphs

Real-life scientists use charts and graphs as a way to organize and understand the information they have gathered. Young scientists can do the same! These activities will help you and your child create simple bar charts together, learn the vocabulary of graphing, and have fun building graphs using real objects.

3 elementary students writing on flip chart in social studies unit

Creating Timelines

Timelines are graphic representations of the chronology of events in time. While they are often used as a way to display information in visual form in textbooks as an alternative to written narrative, students can also become more actively engaged in learning the sequence of events in history by constructing timelines themselves.
Diagrams, Timelines, and Tables

Diagrams, Timelines, and Tables

Concepts of print need to be expanded to include graphics, with instruction in how to read and analyze graphical devices such as diagrams, timelines, and tables. Learn more about how to teach young students to read and understand visual information.

Five Kinds of STEM-themed Nonfiction Books for Kids

Five Kinds of STEM-themed Nonfiction Books for Kids

It’s a great time for children’s nonfiction! In recent years, these books have evolved into five distinct categories. Learn more about the characteristics of traditional nonfiction, browse-able nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, expository literature, and active nonfiction.

Grocery Store Literacy

Grocery Store Literacy

A simple trip to the grocery store can turn into a real learning experience for your child. Below are some easy ways to build literacy and math skills while getting your shopping done at the same time!

Elementary student in class thinking pensively about the lesson

Grounded in Evidence: Informational Text

A third grade teacher describes her approach to helping students comprehend informational text. Her strategies include teaching text features and creating text-dependent questions for close reading.

How to Read Nonfiction Text

How to Read Nonfiction Text

Many kids love to read about science and nature as well as real people, places, and events. Nonfiction books present information in engaging and interesting ways. Find out how you can help your child learn to navigate all the parts of a nonfiction book — from the table of contents to the diagrams, captions, glossary, and index.

young red-headed boy outside writing in a notebook

Integrating Writing and Mathematics

Teachers often find it difficult to integrate writing and mathematics while honoring the integrity of both disciplines. In this article, the authors present two levels of integration that teachers may use as a starting point. The first level, writing without revision, can be worked into mathematics instruction quickly and readily. The second level, writing with revision, may take more time but enables teachers to connect the writing process more fully with mathematics instruction. Six examples are provided, including student work, in which teachers have successfully attended to the goals of both writing and mathematics.

Introducing Science Concepts to Primary Students Through Read Alouds: Interactions and Multiple Texts Make the Difference

Introducing Science Concepts to Primary Students Through Read Alouds: Interactions and Multiple Texts Make the Difference

This study of first and second graders looked at teacher-led read alouds as a way to introduce science concepts. Results suggest that multiple exposures to a related concept across different stories gave students more time to build a mental representation of important ideas. This evidence suggests that moving beyond a single text as a source for building students’ understanding is an important instructional approach.

IF kids code, THEN...what?

IF kids code, THEN…what?

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) learning includes efforts to get kids involved in computer programming. Coding builds logical thinking and problem-solving skills. It’s also creative and collaborative! Find out how you can introduce your child to the basic concepts of programming.

3 elementary students writing on flip chart in social studies unit

Literature-Based Teaching in Science: Q&A Reports

Using students’ questions as a basis for investigations in science education is an effective teaching strategy. Not only do students pose questions they would like answered, but they are asked to find ways to answer them. This article also recommends nonfiction science books that use a question and answer format to find information and model how to communicate what you know.

3 elementary students writing on flip chart in social studies unit

Literature-Based Teaching in Science: What’s in the Sky?

When students practice observing in science, they use their senses to collect information about objects and events related to a question, topic, or problem to solve in science. Learn some strategies to help students organize and analyze their data through presentations, sharing, and discussion.
Magazines Make a Big Impact in the Classroom

Magazines Make a Big Impact in the Classroom

Children’s magazines are a wonderful supplement to classroom instruction. Students are exposed to a wide variety of texts and lots of interactive content. From stories, poems, and action rhymes to nonfiction, crafts, puzzles, and games, kids’ magazines can offer an abundance of high-interest content to support your curriculum.

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

Inferences are what we figure out based on an experience. Helping your child understand when information is implied (or not directly stated) will improve her skill in drawing conclusions and making inferences. These skills will be needed for all sorts of school assignments, including reading, science and social studies.

Top