Students role cubes prepared with vocabulary and parts of speech on each side. They collect words and create poems from the words collected. They read their poems to the class.

Students investigate the 50 States Quarters Program. They use the state of Idaho as a basis for creating context for the lesson. The image on the coin becomes the subject. They differentiate between the reverse and obverse side of the...

Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...

Students determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln lesson, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....

Fifth graders complete a unit of lessons on the life of Abraham Lincoln. They read and analyze a poem, create a timeline, write an essay, research The Gettysburg Address and The Emancipation Proclamation, explore websites, and interview...

Students compare and contrast the two forms of poetry. They are concerned with practicing the styles of both in order to reproduce their own creative work. Research is done to look for the backgrounds of both styles and how they emerged.

Learners develop their own smilies and metaphors. They examine writing of the Poet Laureate. They identify philanthropy in quotations of others.

Students analyze Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln and complete related activities. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students describe Abraham Lincoln as he is presented in Gardner's photograph. Students read a biography...

Pupils examine art related to the Civil War. They participate in activities that allow them to write poetry and drawings. They create their own journal and collect their work in a binder.

Fifth graders experience the movements required to perform social, folk and square dancing. They describe each dance movement. Students discuss the elements found in folk art, folk music, and fold dance.

Students investigate the Trail of Tears. For this United States history lesson, students identify the reason for removing the Cherokee Nation and role play a modern day situation similar to the Indian Removal Act. Students reflect their...

Students examine the contributions of the author Gwendolyn Brooks. They create a journal, read and discuss poems by Brooks, write a poem about themselves, and create a timeline of their own lives.

During the first week of instruction, middle schoolers research biographies on Cesar Chavez and make a pictorial collage of his life. For the second and third week, they maintain a seven-day diary of a farmworker and write a poem. For...

Young scholars create poetry and verse, using all 5 senses to paint a visual image of life in a Japanese-American internment camp.

Students are introduced to the characteristics of the short story. Individually, they use their own personal experiences to write a poem about their families to get them used to writing. Next, they practice reading various short...

Making a book is a fun art activity that can extend itself into so many different core subjects. Listed are the instructions and materials needed to create accordion-style books. Learners can use the basic tools to construct small books...

Would a rose smell as sweet, as Juliet Capulet asserts, if called by any other name? The importance of names and the connection between names and identity are examined in a lesson that explores identity in the United States. After...

Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page lesson culminates with each group getting together to meet...

Fairy tales are the perfect way to focus on alliteration. Learners complete activities relating to alliteration and similes using a fairy tale theme. Then, they complete an acrostic poem using the words fairy tale.

Your developing literary critics discuss 'perspective' and discuss how the same occurence can be interpreted by two different people in two different ways. They read Ryszard Kapuscinski's untitled poem, infer meaning of the poem, and...

Students investigate major characters of history that are represented in children's literature. They conduct research using a variety of resources and each character is put into a class book as a presentation. The character includes a...

Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...

Learners examine the experience of the middle passage of slaves. They review slave songs and discuss their common themes. They develop a monologue in which they integrate a fragment of an actual slave song into a poem they have written.

As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...