Online Lesson Plans, Activities, and Stories to Integrate into the Reading/Literature Curriculum

The Librarian's Guide to Cyberspace for Parents and Kids
http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/safe.html
From the American Library Association, this helpful resource provides tips for Internet safety, guidelines for evaluating a Web site, and a list of 50 great sites for children and parents.

A to Z Teacher Stuff: Children's Literature Activities
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/stuff/literatu.html
Here you'll find over 500 links to printable pages of lesson plans and activities based on children's books.

Awesome Library
http://www.neat-schoolhouse.org/awesome.html
This site provides access to over 14,000 reviewed online resources for teachers, librarians, children, teenagers, and parents. Each area of the site is designed according to the profile the user selects.

Doucette Index: K-12 Literature-Based Teaching Ideas
http://www.educ.ucalgary.ca/litindex/
This site provides an index to children's books and Web sites that provide teaching suggestions related to children's books and their creators.

CyberGuide
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/cyberguide.html
This site features lesson plans focusing on core works of literature for grades K-12. Each guide contains a student and teacher edition, standards, activities, teacher-selected Web sites, and a rubric, based on California Language Arts Content Standards.

Traditional Literature: Lesson Plans
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/tradless.htm
This site features lesson plans for grades K-12 on traditional literature: myths, legends, multicultural folktales, tall tales, fables, and nursery rhymes.

Language Arts Mini-Lessons
http://yn.la.ca.us/cec/ceclang/ceclang-elem.html
Here you'll find over 40 language arts mini-lessons for grades K-5 from the Columbia Education Center. Each lesson indicates grade level.

Leo Lionni Lesson Plans
http://www.osr.state.ga.us/bestprac/math/M-13.htm
Based on Leo Lionni's picture book, Inch by Inch, this site provides cross-curricular lesson plans that focus on size and measurement.
http://www.osr.state.ga.us/bestprac/math/M-20.htm
Based on Leo Lionni's picture book, Fish Is Fish, this site provides cross-curricular lesson plans that help students learn how to classify and sort objects.

TeacherViews
http://www.eduplace.com/tview/index.html
Targeting K-8 educators, this site posts teacher-submitted reviews and activities for children's books.

Thirteen Exciting Reading Activities for Children
http://www.cbcbooks.org/pubs/thirteen.htm
The Children's Book Council offers 13 activities to introduce children to reading and books.

How a Book Is Made
http://www.harperchildrens.com/howabook/
Here you'll find three different looks at how a book is made: through text and illustrations, author/illustrator Aliki explains ten basic stages -- from taking an idea to working with a book designer to the child reading the finished book; with downloadable activity pages, pop-up book creator David Carter offers tips on how to make a pop-up book; Patricia McLaughlin and Barry Moser share how they collaborated on their book, What You Know First.

Early Childhood Today: Let's Make Books
http://place.scholastic.com/ect/builders/curric0298.htm
This guide to making books is categorized by age group and offers suggestions for five types of books to make: group album, songbooks, autobiographies, touch books, and family effort.

Merriam-Webster Word Central
http://www.wordcentral.com/
Designed as the interior of a school, this site plays with words and language. Highlights include a searchable online dictionary, experimental labs to encode and send words to friends, a word of the day, and an area to create new words and browse others' words and definitions.

Wacky Web Tales
http://www.eduplace.com/tales/
This online version of "Mad Libs" is geared for grades 4 and above. Students select a story, some of which are written by students, and fill in the blanks to create their own story. Included is a short guide explaining the parts of speech.

Readers' Theater
http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/index.html
Here you'll find over 20 scripts adapted from stories from a variety of cultures; tips for scripting, staging, and performing; an e-mail list for discussing readers' theater and sharing scripts; audio excerpts of author Aaron Shepard reading from the scripts; and much more.

Make Way for Duckling's Traveling Buddy Backpack Project
http://www.eduplace.com/projects/ducklings.html
This online collaborative project acquaints children in grades K-2 to the city of Boston.

Charlotte's Web
http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/charlotte/index.htm
Created by a second-grade class, this site illustrates how students use technology to respond to a book. Included is an ABC Charlotte's Web picture book, a quotes quiz, chapter summaries, puzzles, and resources for teachers.

Writers Online
http://www.yearofreading.org.uk/writers/
Each month, an author-in-residence leads a writers' workshop, sharing ideas and books, reading student submissions, and offering tips and advice. Students' works may be published on the site.

Little Explorers Picture Dictionary (Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, German)
http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/Dictionary.html
This site features a picture dictionary in English, English-Spanish, English-French, English-German, and English-Portuguese. Many words hyperlink to other Web sites that have been reviewed and deemed appropriate and educational for children. The site also provides basic computer and Web tips for children, and printable activities for second-and third-graders.

Candlelight Stories
http://www.CandleLightStories.com/
This site offers a variety of printable, illustrated stories and fairytales, some of which are accompanied by audio. Activities for children include e-cards, games, and a pen pal sign-up list. The area for educators features a message board, a story writing area for students, and printable scripts for classroom plays.

The Kids
http://www.thekids.com/
This site offers a vast array of illustrated stories, rhymes, folklore, and fairy tales from around the world. It also includes an area for children to submit stories and read stories by other children, discussion rooms, and a parents' area. (The last two are currently under construction.)

KidPub
http://www.kidpub.org/kidpub/
This online publication features stories written by children from all over the world. Included is a collaborative writing project in which children add the next paragraph to a "never-ending" story.

The Mother Goose Pages: Mother Goose, Nursery Rhymes, and Children's Songs
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfa/dreamhouse/nursery/rhymes.html
This extensive resource provides a rich array of nursery rhymes and songs grouped alphabetically and by theme, tips on reading rhymes with children, and reviews of recommended readings and resources.

Encyclopedia Mythica
http://www.pantheon.org/
This encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, and legends contains over 5000 definitions of gods and goddesses, supernatural beings, and legendary creatures from all over the world. It also includes an image gallery and genealogy tables.

"How the Leopard Got His Spots"
http://www.sff.net/people/karawynn/justso/leopard.htp
This printable page features Rudyard Kipling's "How the Leopard Got His Spots." The tale is accompanied by photographs.

Mayan Folktales
http://www.folkart.com/~latitude/folktale/folktale.htm
Here you'll find a selection of Mayan folktales translated into English. Some of the tales are also available in Spanish.

Native American Lore Index
http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/loreindx.html
This site features over 100 Native American lores.

Tales of Wonder
http://darsie.ucdavis.edu/tales/
Here you'll find a rich collection of folktales and fairy tales from around the world, as well as links to other fairy tale and folktale Web sites.

Fairrosa Cyber Library: Fairy and Folktales Online
http://www.users.interport.net/~fairrosa/stacks.html#folktales
Here you'll find an extensive online collection of fairy tales and folktales.

Fairrosa Cyber Library: Classics Online
http://www.users.interport.net/~fairrosa/stacks.html#classics
This online collection of classics includes Little Women, The Jungle Book, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Children's Storybooks Online
http://www.magickeys.com/books/index.html
Here you'll find several illustrated stories categorized by age group, as well as riddles, coloring pages, and puzzles.