What a great idea! Young athletes take backpacks with sports equipment home so they can practice their skills. Each backpack has different equipment to practice different skills. There are task cards in each of the backpack with...

Sing a song about friends and practice basic greetings! This is a good introductory lesson for young learners. First, as a class, review how to introduce yourself. Then, in small pairs, each learner introduces him or herself. Then...

Turn your classroom into a farmers' market! Reading Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson or Monica Wellington’s Apple Farmer Annie, launches this investigation of apples, farmers' markets, and the people selling products. The class...

Challenge your learners to give clear and concise directions in this shape-name practice activity. In partners, they place a dividing "wall" between them, with pattern blocks and a grid on each side. Partner A places one block at a time...

Ever played 20 Questions? A similar game helps young learners practice asking and answering yes-or-no questions. Spread out several objects, preferably all similar with slight variations (buttons or coins would work well). A leader...

Who has the most? Young learners practice charting data using familiar information. They help fill out a classroom chart by recording the number of people, pets, televisions, etc. in their home. Guiding questions help them investigate...

Integrate math, science, and speaking/listening with a collaborative hands-on activity. Each group works with a single penny, examining it with the naked eye and recording observations. Repeat using magnifying glasses. Then repeat with a...

Build on your learners' confidence in quick addition as they discover strategies to add tens to two-digit numbers. After reviewing counting by 10's, they discuss tactics to add multiples of 10 to other numbers. They visualize how to...

Young scholars make several models of the solar system to learn the positions of the planets in the solar system as well as relative distances and sizes. Creation of these models will help them identify the planets by size, shape, color,...

If your youngsters are new to numbers, here are several interactive strategies to get them thinking about even and odd numbers. For example, they can count the number of desks, people, etc. in the room and determine if it is even or odd....

First and second graders view art work, have group and class discussions, listen to stories, write themes, make notes, conduct interviews, graph results, chart findings, and plan a career day. These ambitious lessons should lead your...

This is a twist on the old "guess how many jellybeans" game. Using estimation and math skills, learners participate in a fun "mystery jars" activity, trying to make educated guesses at how many objects are in two jars. The basic activity...

Show your class that being active is more fun than being a couch potato! A fun tag game teachers learners about making healthy eating choices. Over 125,000 teachers have reviewed this activity, and many have written comments about how...

How do good writers exhibit emotion in their work without using an emotion word (angry, sad, happy, etc.)? This plan offers learners model texts that describe an emotion without using an emotion word. A well-formatted writing activity is...

Class members become reporters, photographers, and movie producers to interview each other as they become "Famous First Graders." Learners work as a team to interview the famous person and then produce a short movie. They create...

Elementary schoolers observe and demonstrate a variety of strategies for reading with expression. They listen to the teacher read A Fine, Fine School with and without expression and discuss the differences. Then in pairs, read the...