What kind of animals live on an ice planet like Hoth? How would the habitat on Tatooine allow different organisms to thrive? Connect social studies, science, and Star Wars in one engaging activity that focuses on the ecosystems...

To honor El Dia de los Muertos, scholars work together to create Day of the Dead displays—paper sugar skulls and banners—that bring a festive and memorable flare to the classroom.  

Learners compare and contrast statements made by people in "Man on the Streets." They are interviewing them on the current war in Iraq and how they felt on Sept. 11th. These interviews are tape recorded. To see what kinds of questions to...

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Use this resource to help learners improve the quality of their writing. Discuss the importance of using synonyms for commonly used words. Class members also learn to use a thesaurus, and revise a writing sample to include more...

Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...

Students word in groups to come up with cause and effect situations based on texts they are reading. In this cause and effect lesson plan, students record these in their literary response journals.

Learners research forms of artistic expression in four cultures. They create a representation of art from one of the cultures and create museum information cards. They develop a rubric to evaluate each others work.

Students discuss the events of the Boston Tea Party. They role-play various scenarios from the Boston Tea Party using their conflict resolution skills.

Students complete maps of Ancient Greece identifying key sites of the ancient Olympic games. After watching a video, they complete worksheets about the games and the athletes. Students discuss how the spirit of Ekecheiria, the "Sacred...

Beginning with anticipation guide strategies is a powerful method for improving reading comprehension. First, list initial ideas for a topic the class will be reading about. These ideas are formulated into statements, some of which are...

Add to the narrative writing experience. Elementary or middle school writers listen to the teacher read a descriptive passage, then reread the same passage silently. They highlight sensory details and figurative language, then orally...

How does media convey different messages? Use this lesson to explore media by identifying and analyzing selected images. Middle schoolers analyze a poster and discuss the intended meaning of the imagery and how it makes them feel. They...

Learners examine descriptive writing. In this writing instructional activity, students listen to an audio version of the diary of Lt. Polly Hatchard and her expedition to the South Pole. Learners explore the components of...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass serves as the anchor text for a lesson on symbolism. Readers use the provided worksheets to examine the symbols in the novel as well as in the world around them.

Introduce your class to the writing of the indigenous Americans and, even more well known, their story telling. An engaging presentation describes what kinds of texts would be included in the oral stories performed and some common...

Pupils examine and discuss author's purpose and the influence of an author's perspective in his or her writing. In groups, they read scenarios and respond to them from the perspective of a designated character. Materials are attached.

Students study and explore the portrayal and development of a major character in a novel from the novel, "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens. They identify words and phrases that effectively describe the main character in this novel....

Students explore all the uses of commas by finding sentences using commas and describing how they are used by comparing the sentences to the rules for utilizing commas. They create a poster with five rules of commas and examples for each...

A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...

Students write two descriptive leads to learn how to reel in readers. After their leads have been written, they will share with a partner to decide which was the most appealing. In this leads lesson, students can also write a reflection...

Eighth graders use various sources to find pictorial evidence of Newton's laws of motion in everyday life. They use various sources of technology to import those pictures into a multimedia presentations.

Students examine examples of rock art and the reasons why they were made. They translate the images into a creative writing piece that be attached to their own rock art.

Young writers examine the writings of Raymond Carver to investigate editing skills. They will develop original sentences. Then read the work of Raymond Carver to edit and analyze the ending. They revise and ending of their original...