A fun lesson that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is a...

Explore film adaptation of literature with this activity, which focuses on the world of film advertisements. Middle schoolers discuss various films (including The Lord of the Rings) and create advertisements for a pretend film based on a...

A delightful lesson on poetry is here for you and your middle schoolers. Learners are instructed to write a Halloween poem. They get to choose the age range for the audience of the poem. So, it may be scary (for older kids), or humorous...

Middle schoolers review magazine ads and take a look at some of the most common advertising techniques. From analyzing these ads, youngsters begin to become aware of how advertisers target specific age groups, gender groups, and how they...

Combine art and literature to teach greater themes and symbolic meaning. Using the plan outlined in this resource, expose your class to the story "Zebra" by Chaim Potok, conduct discussions about social issues and nicknames, and ask...

Turn simple pencil sketches into colorful engravings. After first creating hand-drawn pictures, young artists then trace over them will ball point pens, etching the images into cold press illustration boards, before rubbing...

Young scholars, in groups, research several European cathedrals from the Middle Ages. They design stained glass windows and decorate a school window with their design using black construction paper and cellophane.

In this music worksheet, pupils locate and identify various vocabulary terms related to Medieval music. They select the best response for each multiple choice question. Then, students draw some notes the way they were written in the...

Sixth graders read the legend of King Arthur. They complete comprehension activities and research life in the Middle Ages. In groups, 6th graders complete several projects including making shields, crowns, and stained glass art designs.

Students explore feudalism. In this government lesson plan, students examine the role of knights and kings. Students discover the training boys went through for knighthood. Students write a letter home as if they were a squire during the...

Historical fiction can be a valuable asset when learning about the past. Integrate several novels written about the Civil War into your social studies unit, with groups of four working collaboratively to comprehend the novel from...

Join the newspaper business with a series of lessons and exercises focused on elements of journalism. The packet focuses on distinguishing fact from opinion, writing effective headlines, sequencing events, and editing and...

Does history really repeat itself? Encourage your middle and high schoolers to answer this age-old question by reading the attached articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Iraq Crisis of 2002. How similar or different are...

Greeting cards can be cute or pretty, and they end up in the trash. Turn your old greeting cards into a functional box. Learners fold, cut, and tape old cards to create small boxes that are perfect for holding paperclips, erasers, or...

Students research the Dark Ages using books, the Internet, and other media. In this Dark Ages lesson plan, students study poetry, music, art, and the architecture of the Dark Ages.

Learners closely examine chamber music as it has changed from the Middle Ages to today. They work in small groups to research the composers, instruments and typical presentation in 5 time periods. They write biographies and share their...

Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...

Analyze the setting behind the Great Depression in California with Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Middle schoolers assess the protagonist during her coming-of-age moments, while migrant workers manage the hardships of the...

Artists of all ages participate in a very basic bookbinding technique incorporating a dimensional object and simple fastening method. They create their own book to use as a sketchbook, writing surface or scrapbook. The results are...

Middle schoolers demonstrate their ability to summarize by crafting a summary of a passage from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oh that Dickens should be so laconic.

Experiment with multimedia storytelling. After watching a segment of American Family, first, middle and high schoolers tell a story about their families, clarifying the setting, characters, and script. They work on setting...

Combine informational text and creative writing with one fun activity! Middle and high schoolers write found poems based on newspaper headlines that they find. The resource includes a thorough lesson plan and many links to articles that...

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...