National Endowment for the Humanities
Poems that Tell a Story: Narrative and Persona in the Poetry of Robert Frost
Dig in deeper with Robert Frost's, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Learners will read and discuss poems by Robert Frost and learn the meaning of terms such as narrative and personal. They journal, collaborate, and present poetry...
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The Summer of the Swans
The Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars, is a 160-page chapter book about a family going through a difficult time. Complement your reading of Byars' book with this detailed outline of each chapter. Every section includes comprehension...
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Dancing Lights
Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis. In this Northern Lights lesson, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the Northern lights. Students answer...
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Chew On This!
Learners develop pamphlets for a dental health mentoring program that educates younger students about caring for their teeth. They recall experiences at visits to dentists and consider why some students may have poor dental health.
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Everybody Is Unique: A Lesson in Respect for Others' Differences
Learners of all ages talk about the meaning of the word "unique," and draw a truly unique person, one part at a time. They create a totally unique person, with a head drawn by one student, a torso drawn by another student, and lower body...
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Pay It Forward Project
Create a list of random acts of kindness and have your class perform them during a designated week. Learners will also participate in a project centered around being kind to others. Each grade chooses their kindness project, and then...
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Story Telling through Photography
Use this writing and photography lesson plan in your descriptive writing unit. Elementary and middle schoolers write and create a story line incorporating photos from Inspiration or their own personal photos. They experiment with...
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Online —On Stage—and Action
Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...
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"Sentences - Can You Make Them?"
Here is a great lesson on how to make a complete sentence. Young writers "drag and drop" the words using the mouse. This is a fantastic activity to use with "Word Wall Words." It provides practice in making sentences, as well as...
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Quotation Marks, Commas, And More
Correctly punctuating a character's dialogue can become a fun activity as students learn to use quotation marks, commas, and more.
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Eva's Code
Students understand the importance of punctuation in a sentence. In this codes lesson, students write a pen pal letter using codes for the punctuation. Students send a key to break the code if needed.
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Animal Fact or Fiction?
Read and discuss the article "Welcome to Cicadaville (Enter at Your Own Risk)" to gain a better understanding around the confusion regarding cicadas and locust swarms. In groups your young analysts research statements about animals to...
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Superpowered Interdisciplinary Projects: Using the Science in Saturday Morning Cartoons
How to leverage cultural background knowledge to increase student investment.
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When the Wind Blows Lesson Plan
Learners read a book and observe the wind and how it affects the environment. They explore what wind does by looking at pictures, reading a book, and by completing an experiment. They will use their own knowledge of the wind and compare...
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Adding Strong Voice to Your Writing
Identify examples of strong voice in popular picture books. Young authors add voice to their writing and revise their own writing. In addition, they share their writing with their peers.
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Dear Miss Florence: Writing Letters To the Boardinghouse for Artists
Imagine being one of the painters in 1910 at the Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut. Using the Florence Griswold Museum's on-line resources to gather information about the daily life of artists at the boardinghouse, learners write a letter...
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Spring into Poetry
How many different types of poetry are there? Let me count them; list poems, haiku, and makes-me-think poems are only a few. Learners create their own poems accompanied by artistic projects such as haiku poems written on kites.
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Everyone Can Write Poetry
Embark on a journey of writing several different types of poetry. Fifth graders read several examples, and use the examples to model their own writing. Each poem is to be accompanied by a different art visual representation. In the end,...
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The Peanut Wizard
Students read and discuss information regarding George Washington Carver and how the peanut became cultivated in the southern colonies of the United States. In this George Washington Carver lesson, students develop vocabulary that...
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Let's Talk About Painting
Discuss art and read Matthew's Dream. In this visual arts lesson, students recognize that there are different styles of art, each with its own techniques. Use simple techniques to understand art and work at stations to complete a style...
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Village Life in India
Young scholars use included links to research the lives of people living in a small village in India.
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Twice Upon a Time: Multi-Cultural Cinderella
Engage your learners in a cross-cultural study by having them read, compare, and contrast various Cinderella stories from different cultures around the world. From this exercise, they will learn that plot element can seem different, but...
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Exploring Countries and Cultures
Fifth graders choose a country associated with a family member and research its location, government, language, economy, history, holidays, foods, sports, and famous people. They write to inform using this data and draw a map identifying...
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All Aboard!
Students, in groups, create a display showing a "train trip" to a destination of their choice from a teacher-made list. They also answer a series of questions related to their trip. Groups present their displays.