Explore communication through writing by analyzing individual sentences with young writers. They practice writing compound sentences and identifying sentence fragments. The next step has them learn the five parts of a friendly letter....

Explore narrative writing by participating in a role-playing activity. In this perspective lesson, learners define first and third person in writing and discuss how it changes the mood of the reader. The first activity has pupils write...

Middle schoolers stand up against bullying in a character-building lesson. After discussing historical figures who became advocates in times of adversity, they brainstorm ways to end bullying at their own school, and use a formal letter...

Students explore U.S. geography by participating in a role-playing activity. In this Baltimore history lesson, students discuss the geography of Baltimore city and complete a worksheet which discusses the "charm" Baltimore is known for....

De-icing materials may have a harmful effect on our environment; have your class perform an experiment to test the nature of these effects. Scholars monitor the survival rate of a sample of daphnia as the concentration of a de-icing...

Pupils read Flat Stanley, and make a poster board Flat Stanley which they sent out to family members in different states. They create an adventure for their Flat Stanley based on his "travels" and map out his trip.

Here is a great way to explore language arts by completing a computer activity with classmates. Youngsters read a fairy tale in class and analyze where the beginning, middle and end are. They create their own story using clip art and...

Students listen to a story and view Japanese artifacts. They use the internet to explore the writings known as Hiragana. They create their own Japanese pictionaries and share them with the class.

Exactly how environmentally friendly is your school? From the air fresheners in the bathrooms to the cleaning solvents used in the classrooms, young conservationists search the school grounds for sources of air pollution in...

Students explore symmetrical design and lines of symmetry.  In this fourth grade geometry instructional activity, students create their own symmetrical design and identify and label the lines of symmetry.  Students use one...

Students read a letter titled "A South African Storm" on her experiences of discrimination in the country. Individually or as a class, they answer questions about the author's purpose in writing the piece was and how she made herself...

It's always nice to hear from friends. Your budding mathematicians read letters from pen pals and convert customary measurements into metric units and vice versa. They also write letters to an imaginary pen pal using metric units.

Students read a multicultural book called "This Is the Way We Go to School" by Edith Baer and Steve Bjorhman. They become culturally aware of the different nationalities around the world and different ways that they may do things on a...

Students read and discuss an article about carbon dating, then participate in a hands-on lab to discover how carbon dating works. Students also write a letter to a friend explaining the process, and how archeologists use the process to...

Learners read letters written by soldiers during World War II in order to analyze the soldier's feelings about the war. They explain how these primary sources teach appreciation for the World War II soldier's experiences.

Sixth graders convert English to Metric units.  In this converting English to Metric units lesson, 6th graders convert a cookie recipe in English units to Metric units.  Students write a letter to a pen pal in England where...

Over the course of three class periods, middle schoolers design an experiment to provide learner input to administration about which rock band to invite to play at school. They practice several random sampling exercises, all well...

Students explore biology by writing animal poetry in class. In this animal characteristics lesson, students research the Internet for facts about an "ugly" animal such as a bug or small critter. Students complete worksheets about animal...

Here is a simple, yet clever lesson on how to teach the important concepts of greater than, less than, and equal to. Pupils write their names down on grid paper - one letter per box. They compare their names and find a name that is...

Let there be light—or maybe not. Pupils learn about light pollution with an investigation of constellations. They create constellation boxes and experiment with different levels of light. Observations are then made about the lighting in...

Students continue to examine the importance of wearing a seat belt. After identifying new vocabulary, they discuss the ways in which wearing a seat belt can better people's lives. They write a letter to the newspaper to state why the...

Pupils write three fictitious letters each on the same topic but to three different persons. They compare letters to decide how the voice of the writing changes depending on the person who is receiving the letter. They apply this...

Students complete a unit that focuses on their school's waste production. They conduct a litter survey, collect the waste produced in their classroom for a week and generate a waste-audit, and identify how their school can minimize...

Third graders brainstorm on what they believe they do on their summer vacation. They explore how family and relatives are important in their lives. They read along with their teacher a book about relatives.