Upper elementary and middle school scholars study the economic factors that caused so many Arkansans to migrate to different parts of the country looking for work. Use this history lesson plan to help your charges gain a better...

Eighth graders select ordinary objects, determine their uses, and write poems about them. Once they select an object, they create a web about its uses to serve as an outline. Once they have written their own odes, 8th graders meet in...

Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...

Students explore the leaf as a design motif in art. They conduct Internet research on leaf and tree symbolism, view and discuss artwork, and create an original work of art featuring a leaf or leaf motif.

Elementary schoolers read paragraphs one at a time in order to pick out the main ideas. They choose which sentences are most important in a paragraph. This type of exercise prepares learners to identify the main idea in longer narratives.

As part of a study of printmaking, class members study the works of Tara Donovan and Donald Sulta. They go on to build a printing plate using glue, textured paper, and found objects.

Third graders investigate the use of lines in different pieces of art by creating their own ink print.  In this art analysis instructional activity, 3rd graders identify the contours and lines of natural objects such as twigs and...

Students explore the usage of primary sources, what they are and how they originate. Artifacts are compared and contrasted as part of this historical inquiry as questions are formulated and conclusions drawn.

Students create dioramas that depict a habitat. In this habitat lesson, students use a variety of art items to develop either a marine, freshwater/pond, or forest habitat in a box. They write an expository essay about their habitat, and...

Transform a written biography into a video biography! Introduce your learners to the biography format by reading them a few examples (some suggestions are included). Then discuss the factors that make a good biography. What information...

First graders write four simple sentences about themselves. In this simple sentences lesson plan, learners insert a picture of themselves into Microsoft Word. Everyone writes four simple sentences about themselves. These pictures and...

Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...

Students explore the Tamil language. They listen to parts of a story read in English, Hindi and Tamil. Tamil word cards are matched with their English equivalent. Practice saying basic Tamil words daily within the instructional activity.

Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis lesson, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them. Students analyze...

Young scholars investigate their local creeks and forests and practice identifying trees.  For this ecology identification lesson, students utilize a pad and pencil while on a field trip near their school and describe their trip...

Students research the signs that panthers leave. In this panther track lesson, students conduct Internet research into the signs that panthers leave such as tracks, scat, scrapes, and scratches. They make a three-dimensional poster using...

Seventh graders examine historical perspectives. In this historical writing lesson, 7th graders discuss their definitions of history and then discuss perspectives of history. As a culminating activity, students write narrative stories...

Sixth graders complete lesson 5 of 15 about the book Esperanza Rising. In this Esperanza Rising lesson, 6th graders build on work done in the previous lesson. They complete response logs, and vocabulary posters. They investigate how...

Learners practice their writing techniques by creating a novelette.  In this creating writing lesson, students brainstorm and decide on a topic they would like to expand upon in order to create their own novelette.  Learners...

Third graders gain the necessary skills to write a descriptive paragraph. They see the evaluation and decision making process that are used in good wriitng. The bible is used to see illustrations and then used to paint a picture in...

Students participate in a collaboration activity. For this My Hero Project lesson, students discover what a hero is to someone halfway around the world and themselves. Over the 16-week session, circles, made up of between 6-9 classes...

Fourth graders investigate the concept of and reasons for immigration. They report on an immigrant group that moved to Illinois since 1700.

Students choose a historical figure in which they research their life. They are to write their biography. They should take the written version and transform it into a video which tells the person's life. They share their presentations...

Third graders practice identifying characters and story elements by creating a character cluster in class.  In this story analysis lesson, 3rd graders discuss the story Snow White and identify the characteristics of the evil witch....