Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

When is a staple remover a fanged monster? In your ELA classroom when you're teaching this fun figurative language lesson, of course! Get your young writers using figurative language by making a game of it. Give groups a paper bag full...

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Use this writing and photography lesson plan in your descriptive writing unit. Elementary and middle schoolers write and create a story line incorporating photos from Inspiration or their own personal photos. They experiment with...

A great resource for your unit on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Small groups conduct research about related topics (list included), write papers, present PowerPoint slide shows, and take a student-created test. Fill in a few...

Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...

Students analyze a piece of writing by creating diary entries based on a character.  For this reading comprehension lesson, students read an assigned book with their classmates and create a sketch of what they believe the main...

Direct your class’s attention to the elements that make their community unique. After examining sample travel brochures, groups select something from their community to use as the subject, and then research, create, and publish a...

Young readers describe objects by using describing words. After reviewing the five senses, they use their senses to gain information about an object. Then as homework, they write three descriptive words about a mystery object and place...

Ninth graders explore civil rights by reading several biographies. In this Nelson Mandela lesson, 9th graders discuss the trials and tribulations Nelson Mandela had to face in South Africa and how they were similar to the problems Martin...

Third graders explore American history by researching Native Americans. In this American settlers lesson, 3rd graders research the Native American Woodland Indians and define the actions they took when faced with the European settlers....

Fifth graders explore slavery conditions by viewing a video clip on the Internet. For this slave ship lesson, 5th graders discuss the transportation of black men and women from Africa to the United States in the 1700's and how poor the...

Students identify the textures of materials in their environments in order to expand their language, math, sensory, and observational skills. In this sensory activity lesson, students first write a list of different words to describe...

Learners investigate the 5 senses by reading children's literature. In this descriptive writing lesson, students read the story The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida, analyzing the story and characters as they go. Learners identify the use of...

Third graders practice brainstorming with their classmates as they discuss a role-play situation.  In this group discussion instructional activity, 3rd graders must present ideas of ways to survive on a deserted island by discussing...

Students explore botany by participating in a language arts activity. In this garden poetry lesson, students read the classic poem "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and discuss the imagery and rhyming methods used. Students examine their own...

Learners listen as the novel "On My Honor" is read to them. They identify similes and the characters differences in the novel.

Students explore biology by researching birds in class. In this raven identification instructional activity, students utilize the Internet to identify the anatomy, habits and habitat of ravens. Students write descriptive paragraphs about...

Students examine a large box and determine how they may move the box to a specified point. After the class makes predictions, they test them and decide what worked and what didn't work. Through their tests, push and pull are introduced....

Students follow this recipe for fun clay creations. In this early childhood art and science lesson, students develop creative-thinking skills, fine-motor skills, and sensory awareness while they make, mold, and decorate salt dough.

Learners with sensory perception issues discover the properties of light through a series of excellent hands on activities. They look at beams of lights in a darkened room; use a kaleidoscope and optical illusions as they experience the...

Students classify objects based on their attributes. They explain how archaeologists use classification to help answer research questions.

Pupils examine the characterisitics of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. They discuss what they think is on Titan and what the Huygens probe can tell them about the moon. They write a summary about the information they gathered during the...