What makes an event newsworthy, worth a reference in a news magazine or textbook? Who decides? These are questions Marilyn Nelson asks readers of her poem "Making History" to consider. To begin, class members list details they notice in...

Third graders watch a news story from three different networks in order to determine how the same story can be presented in three different ways. Next, working in small groups they create a newscast of a current event to share with the...

Young scholars investigate article editing in today's society by writing their own news articles.  In this journalism lesson, students create a word web based on the word "editing."  Young scholars write their own news articles...

Third graders see how to distinguish facts from opinions in a child's news magazine. After a lecture/demo, 3rd graders utilize a sample story and a worksheet which gives them practice in distinguishing fact from opinion.

Students explore their hometown newspaper for ideas. They create their own classroom newspaper.

Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...

Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...

Young scholars explore the job of a journalist. In this careers and writing instructional activity, the teacher introduces the job of a journalist, then students choose a headline and write a news story. Lesson includes extension ideas.

Students explore the Chinese New Year through Scholastic News magazine. In this cultural awareness lesson, students use a thinking map to develop their critical thinking skills pertaining to the Chinese New Year. Students compose...

Inspired by magazine photos, your young writers hone word choices to create a meaningful haiku. Charged with brainstorming 100 words associated with a photo of their choosing, they whittle their list to the top 10%, make three sentences...

Students discuss the importance of using their seat belts in cars. After viewing different public service announcements, they identify ones which made an impact on them. In groups, they draw their own announcement to educate others about...

Can't read this now, I'll have to check it out later. A teacher's time is always limited. So often as we peruse the web for personal and professional content, we come across sites and information that we cannot immediately...

Learners practice combining sentences using the conjunction handout provided. They search magazines and newspapers to identify combined sentences that use conjunctions. Finally, these are rewritten again as two separate sentences.

Learners listen to the Scottish tale, The Princess and the Golden Shoes, creating a character chart. They develop a newspaper containing news stories, personality profiles, and editorials regarding The Princess and the Golden Shoes.

Students explore the career of a journalist. In this careers activity, the teacher introduces the work of a journalist, then students use a worksheet as a springboard for a journalism activity as they write a news article about a...

Students observe and demonstrate three steps to summarize text. They read and discuss the three steps to summarizing, then silently read an article about dugongs from "National Geographic Kids" magazine. Students demonstrate the three...

Learners work in groups to compose their own "Duty of Care" for pets and make their own individual list from this discussion and illustrate it with drawing or images taken from magazines, websites or newspapers.

This is the culminating activity for a unit on energy balance for 3rd-5th graders created by Together Counts. Young learners make a plan to balance their energy in and their energy out for one month. They use the SMART steps in creating...

It's disturbing to think that one third of children born after the year 2000 will suffer from diabetes and perhaps be the first generation to live shorter lives than their parents! Too many youngsters are not eating properly and are not...

Here is another in this fabulous series of art lessons I've been reviewing! Artists of all ages design a wearable piece of artwork using special buttons that have a clear, removable top to them. All sorts of creative ideas are presented...

Students learn what it is to be an athlete in the Olympics. They focus on the motto of the Olympics and make their own classroom oath to complete the activity.

Elementary schoolers listen and watch television or radio interviews in order to learn interviewing skills. They work in pairs, and "interview" their partner to find out about his/her life, job, and any interesting personal facts. Peers...

This is an awesome resource for any elementary or middle school teacher about to start a new school year! This resource includes an extensive list of activities for introducing the members of your class to each other. Some of the ideas...