Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...

What would the world be like with no insects? Ponder this question using a research-based STEM unit that encourages scholars to investigate insects from both a beneficial and hazardous perspective. They learn about insect behaviors,...

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...

What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing...

Start your poetry unit with this basic overview of Robert Frost's life and works. A PowerPoint presentation starts off the lesson, which ends in a short recall quiz about Robert Frost. The presentation would be sufficient for your lesson...

Students interpret poetry though movement. In this poetry lesson students take a poem they've previously read and discussed in class and work in pairs to develop gestures for each line.

Students create poems using a group of four predetermined words. In this poetry lesson plan students incorporate each of the four words into a poem that makes sense.

Students read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. For this Great Depression lesson, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Students select one narrative as the...

Students explore U.S. History by writing poems. For this United States leader biography lesson, students identify elements needed to create a good poem, and write a Bio-Poem about themselves. Students utilize the same form to write a...

Learners explore birds of prey and food chains. In this ecosystems and birds of prey cross curriculum science and literacy lesson, students brainstorm characteristics of birds after viewing photographs. Learners view a video and document...

Students define literary terms and answer short answer questions about poetry.  In this poetry starter instructional activity, students discuss the importance of titles, first and last lines, sounds, and speaker.  Students...

Students analyze Edward Hopper's painting and Hirsch's poem to explore the types of emotion generated by each work. In this literary and art analysis lesson, students discuss how Hopper establishes tone and analyze Hirsch's use of...

Students complete a unit on poetry. In this poetry lesson, students complete 19 lessons that focus on reading and writing poetry as well as learning about literary elements and sound devices. Students read poetry orally, debate poetry in...

Middle schoolers complete a unit of lessons that explore the poetic voice of Langston Hughes. They define voice, read and analyze various poems by Langston Hughes, and complete journal entries for each instructional activity.

Start your unit on The Odyssey in a fun and accessible way! Three options help your young readers grasp the concept of brave Odysseus's tale, including making masks of Greek gods and goddesses, and responding to different...

Get the youngest American citizens involved in the presidential election and inauguration with a set of social studies activities. Focusing on the history of presidential inauguration ceremonies, learners draft their own poems, design...

Writing is a process, and lesson planning is, too! A personal narrative unit stresses the writing process to pupils, who first examine various stories and poems as a model of autobiographical writing and then write their own stories....

Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history instructional activity, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the...

In this activity, students create a Memorial Day word web and use it to create a poem about Memorial Day. They can write the poem and illustrate it as a poster.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is known for its fantastical imagery and nonsense verse. This unit plan offers a basic exploration into nonsense verse through poetry and teacher read-alouds. It incorporates activities involving...

Helpful for a unit on Walter Dean Myers' Monster, or any novel that you are teaching, a graphic organizer prompts learners to compare and contrast different character traits. The first box has one set of lines to jot down what two...