Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...

Give young scholars a chance to practice making inferences after reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. They confirm whether or not their conclusions are true, have a class discussion, and then independently complete an...

Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...

Pupils employ strategies to increase comprehension while they are reading. In this language arts lesson, students must infer, predict and visualize in order to improve comprehension.

Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...

Here is a lesson which is "flexible," and can operate as an individual or whole class activity. After reading a book of their choosing, with the use of a semantic map, learners identify character traits. They infer how their feelings...

Ideas like this are highly effective for helping build better reading comprehension. The class listens to an excerpt from a grade-appropriate text, and they discuss what clues or words helped them visualize the scene. They then read a...

Second graders use 'Read Kansas' cards to learn about the daily life activities of an Osage boy and a pioneer girl. In this similarities and differences lesson, 2nd graders write a paragraph and draw a picture comparing...

Learners design a mobile or wall hanging that reviews the circulatory system. In this circulatory system lesson, students work in small groups to identify the structures of the heart, and create a model in the form of a two or three...

Students read and discuss poems by Robert Frost. Students collaborate in small groups to draw inferences about speakers' character and motives and to gather evidence supporting those inferences.

Students research and learn about the Underground Railroad. In this Underground Railroad lesson plan, students take 2 weeks to research an individual, complete journal writings, read passages in small groups, list major events, and more.

Second graders make several inferences based on the reading of Shel Silverstein poems. They write their own poetry and complete an assessment in which they differentiate between sentences that are stated or inferred.

Students make cut-out gingerbread cookies. After reading "The Gingerbread Boy", their cookies "disappear" and students must make predictions and draw conclusions about what happened to their cookies.

Young scholars complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Fishing Fun. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...

Fourth graders examine the effects of Mexican-American ranching on life today.

Fifth graders investigate coral reefs and the dangers they face by labeling and drawing.  In this oceanography lesson plan, 5th graders view a PowerPoint presentation of photographs of coral reefs in Belize.  Students...

Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and...

Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...

Students complete a timeline. In this peanuts lesson, students read A Short Peanut History and use this resource to make a timeline of the history of the peanut. Students can grow peanuts in the classroom or make various peanut recipes.

Practice sequencing with your 2nd graders via Patricia Polacco's Civil War book Pink and Say. Begin with a blindfold and a bag of mystery items. Connect their use of clues to identify what they can't see with the skill of making...

First graders analyze historical materials and create questions about Dwight D. Eisenhower.  In this question writing instructional activity, 1st graders ask and answer questions about the life of Eisenhower. Students write about...

Students, in groups, research immigration in America at the turn of the century. They put together a series of original written essays, letters, newspaper columns, etc. that show what it was like to live as an American citizen and as an...

Students write a persuasive letter and create a poster about pollution and conservation. For this pollution and conservation lesson plan, students learn how humans are the number 1 cause of pollution.

Third graders compare and contrast the physical features of parents and offspring. In this life science lesson, 3rd graders classify a set of animal pictures according to their similarities. They share and explain their work in class.