Figurative language is the focus in the book Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. After reading Peggy Parish's book, class members dramatize idioms from the text, using dramatic strategies such as characterization, exaggeration, and...

Students practice using their target language by writing a news article.  For this foreign language writing lesson, students create a fictional "hero" in their city which they write a fictional news article about in their new...

Young historians research the devastating attacks of 9/11 and use that information to script their own documentaries. The follow-up activity includes recording the documentary and conducting classmate interviews, 

The best part about this resource is that you've got four wonderful activities to choose from. Each of the projects can work together or on its own to help learners understand the history of math and how it can be seen every day. In...

Middle schoolers examine the economic benefits, environmental losses and dangers of the shrimp farming industry on the coast of Ecuador. They read a script, role-play people involved in the shrimp business, and write an essay of the pros...

Students create a brochure advertising a state for vacation. In this internet research lesson, students do research on a state and create a brochure with the information. Students write a commercial and videotape them.  

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

Social Studies and role-playing can go hand in hand. Learners use supporting evidence found in primary and secondary source material to develop a character from the Five Points neighborhood in the 1850s. Each student takes on the role of...

Twelfth graders examine all the descriptions of costumes, props, movement, lighting and music in the stage directions of A Streetcar Named Desire. They begin to imagine this drama as a production, not simply a script. Students perform...

Students research sexual harassment. In this sexual harassment lesson plan, students discuss and research sexual harassment. They write a script for a scenario dramatizing the incident, how to respond and or prevent the incident.

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...

Fifth graders research and write a pen pal letter about the geography of a Canadian town. Students create a script for a phone call with their pen pal and perform it with a friend for the class.

Third graders, after brainstorming the positive and negative types of behaviors, become aware of the right and wrong way to behave as a third grader. They perform a skit that demonstrates the skills and behaviors used by third grade...

Sixth graders create a daily newscast which they broadcast to the whole school. They write the scripts for the broadcast, after reviewing interviews, feature writing, and proposals. They organize the newscast for presentation and edit...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

Students visit Ellis Island Immigration Museum (as a field trip or a virtual visit) and pretend to be Italian immigrants to the United States. They write a journal entry detailing their first week in the United States. They interview an...

Fourth graders research famous Americans from the Westward Movement and complete an interview. In this Westward Movement lesson plan, 4th graders work in pairs to research someone who was important during this time period. They prepare...

Students practice using a new language to plan a community event.  In this civics lesson, students practice writing a proposal for a community project using their target language.  Students brainstorm in small groups what their...

Students explore the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a used vehicle.  In this warranty lesson, students  define "implied warranty of merchantability," then complete several activities that reinforce this concept,...

Students take a trip through space. For this space science lesson, students travel on a simulated mission to a space station. Students write a script and perform a play based on the pretend trip.

Students create a play in which each person in the group is a "character" or part of a system.  In this creative instructional activity students are assigned a process in which they write a script about with characters. 

Students view a short play and explore the United States constitution relating it to the importance of rules in the classroom and in the community.

Learners assess the difficult position and decision Lincoln had to make. They determine that there were many conflicting opinions at that time. They pretend they are at a dinner table together discussing the current events. They...