To better understand early American literature, which was usually written by Puritans coming to the new world, learners pretend they have just landed on Mars. They compose a letter home describing their experiences, the new landscape,...

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...

What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," students write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...

Discover pantomime! Young mimes assume the identity of the seed as they listen to a story about the growth of a seed throughout the seasons. After a discussion of the performance, the class writes about and illustrates their favorite...

Students write a descriptive letter about life in ancient Mesopotamia. Through video streaming, students discover the history of Mesopotamia. They assume the role of a scribe and compose a three paragraph essay using main ideas and...

Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act II, Scenes I and II) lacks explicit details of the murder of King Duncan, yet the author creates an atmosphere that allows us to visualize the event. Readers interpret the "Dagger Speech" by writing stage...

Fourth graders practice their creative writing skills by describing fame.  In this writing prompt activity, 4th graders identify fame and how their life would be dramatically different if they were wildly famous.  Students...

Fourth graders practice descriptive writing by describing a fictitious monster they created.  In this language arts lesson, 4th graders illustrate an image of a monster character they imagine and practice using their vocabulary to...

Learners demonstrate their knowledge of panthers by writing a play on the subject.  In this animal life lesson, students view a slide-show on school computers of a veterinary exam of a panther.  Learners utilize this...

Pupils read about the Alaska Gold Rush, its characters and the impact on the history of Alaska. They write a response as if they are a Klondike Stampeder in the late 1900s.

Young scholars design a discussion tool to facilitate class brainstorming of solutions to dilemmas and difficult situations. They write situations that they imagine or may have faced that could be resolved in a variety of ways. Students...

Seventh graders explore persuasive writing using the city life and the country life as focus topics. In this persuasion lesson, 7th graders read "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" in an attempt to determine the pros and cons of both...

Young scholars explore economics by writing a fictitious news article. In this personal wealth lesson, students participate in a role-playing activity in which the year is 2025 and they must write an article about their extremely wealthy...

Build a historical perspective from four different points of view. Young historians take on the role of a slave-owning white person, non-slave owning white person, slave, or free African-American person and imagine what life would be...

Scientific method, linear measurements, friction, inertia. Imagine learning scientific vocabulary in an ELA class. Before researching and developing a presentation about simple machines, class members build a common, but decidedly...

Learners compare and constrast life in an 1830s family verses a modern family. They role play the position of a family member in 1830 while wearing traditional clothing for the time period. They write journal entries to show their daily...

While examining slavery's impact on women, historians compare and contrast the perspectives of a plantation mistress and an enslaved woman, both reflecting on the system of forced prostitution. Text analysis and written responses create...

This organic chemistry lab activity is appropriate for teaching polymerization, percent yield, melting point, or the types and uses of polymer materials. Chemistry pupils imagine that they are working for a company to develop a special...

A role-playing scenario has middle-schoolers imagining that they are refugees forced to flee their community and integrate into a new one. Then, some play the roles of members of the new community and the class brainstorms ideas about...

Students experience life in the Secret Annex. In this Holocaust lesson plan, students participate in a simulation. The simulation places them in the Secret Annex for dinner as residents. Students journal about the experience and the...

Students choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.

Young readers practice looking words up in the dictionary. This lesson describes a simple, yet engaging, game that can be played as a whole-class activity.

Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...

In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.