What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...

How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...

Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...

Eighth graders read stories and identify the six elements of a story. As a group activity, they illustrate random examples of Frankinstein stories, identify the element illustrated, and post the picture in the appropriate station in the...

Students read a fiction and nonfiction accounts about different types of disasters. The class uses iChat AV and iSight camera to interview students in a different part of the country about natural or manmade disasters in their area....

Students research the Gray Whale. In this Gray Whale lesson, students use KWL charts to organize information. Students do Internet research to gain information about the whales. Students get into groups and create a mock news...

Students analyze the relationship between religion an politics. In this Supreme Court activity, students examine the results of the 2004 presidential election and explore how the results impacted George W. Bush and his Supreme Court...

Students complete a KWL chart on Albert Einstein. After they read an article, they discover more about his iconic status and how future scientists view him. In groups, they create trading cards about Einstein and another scientist of...

Students design Career Character Poster, research occupations of interest, write about their future career choices, and present a first-person narrative about their chosen occupation.

Students discover interesting and factual information about another country using the Internet and produce a flyer consisting of the information they find.

Student examine gender in career choices. In this career lesson, students are given a list of careers and asked to put them in groups of male. female, and neutral. Students also look through magazines and cut out pictures of people in...

Students brainstorm a list of all the functions organisms carry out and how they carry them out. In groups, they are given the smallest and highest level of organization in organisms and are to fill in the missing spaces. To end the...

Eighth graders take a quiz to review the different objects in space. As a class, they define terms related to galaxies. In groups, they make a model of the Milky Way galaxy using materials provided to them by their teacher. To end the...

Students identify personal values. They construct a Bulls' eye arrow puzzle and write values they stand for on the board. In groups, students construct a collage representing their special interests and values. They share their...

Students study Mars and Odyssey's mission to Mars. In groups, they plan a community that could live on Mars.

Students explore a variety of games on the Internet that will teach them about animals; they focus on the Florida panther. Students choose the activity that is of interest to them, and then rotate between the games online and the...

Middle schoolers discuss how the climate in their area affects they way they live their life. In groups, they identify the climate zones throughout the world and research one country of interest to them. To end the lesson, they make a...

Students outline a body on butcher paper. Students fill in the circulatory system using materials of various textures. Students decorate all the parts of the circulatory system with art articles, like buttons, yarn, etc.

Students determine how geography affects how people live, work and play. They identify the different landforms in the three regions of Peru and create a travel brochure highlighting Peru's attractions.

Students research the factors and events which lead to the creation of Canada. Using the internet, they participate in a "Confederation Review Conference" to discover how the country can best serve its citizens. They analyze current...

Take some time to have your pupils identify careers that are not traditional for their gender.

Students listen to a book about careers and occupations before they research their own career choice using a variety of resources. They complete a KWL chart and Job Research worksheet and design a Career Character Poster that shows them...