Help learners discover more about their backgrounds. This family history activity includes links to sites about heraldry and family names. Begin by sharing your family history with the class and then allow students to do some internet...

Biographies deserve special attention when training youngsters how to use the library because they are alphabetized by subject rather than by author. Guide children through the process of finding biographies over a two-visit series. On...

Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...

Class groups assume the identity of one of the primary human characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They create a body biography that identifies the most important traits of their character, translate these traits into...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Motivate your class with this lesson! Learners use the trading card format to create an autobiography. They are given a list of characteristics to list, write down what they would like to include on their trading card, and head to the...

Every child is an author with this engaging reading activity. First the class reviews the various parts of a book such as the title, author, dedication, and author-biography. Then each individual will choose a story of their...

Young poets focus on one character from a story they are reading, collect details, and use a biopoem template to analyze this character. The activity can be used with any text.

Write what you know, sound advice for any writer and something many famous authors are known to have done. Use these materials to explore how Shakespeare's life influenced his plays. This resource is packed with readings, video segments,...

Practice comprehension skills using the story, The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon by Bea Uusma Schyffert. Learners answer questions, fill out graphic organizers, and engage in extension activities involving writing and...

Really a unit, this resource exposes middle schoolers to genetics at their level. They read interviews and biographies, trace a family tree, play games that simulate inheritance concepts, and more! Teacher's procedures, student...

This story is bound to motivate your class. Learners read a story called Elena by Diane Stanley. The story is about a young woman who marries for love but is soon widowed during the Mexican Revolution. She takes her children to...

An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter...

As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...

Discuss the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt. This story, called "Franklin D. Roosevelt" by Laura Hamilton Waxman, is used to explore comprehension skills. Some of these skills include identifying prefixes and suffixes, making comparisons,...

Elementary schoolers learn about young John F. Kennedy. After a teacher-led discussion about his high school years, pupils examine a photograph of Kennedy and four of his friends taken on the grounds of the Choate School in Connecticut....

Explore United States history with this lesson on George Washington and the Revolutionary War. After reading biographical information about George Washington, learners make a list of ten reasons for the revolution. They create a timeline...

Boost language skills with a unit all about feelings. Scholars from all grade levels take part in several lessons that incorporate specific vocabulary terms and adjectives while discussing their feelings with their peers. Reading...

Eighth graders explore the cultural diversity present within their own families. They also look at the cultural makeup of their own community. They look closely at the works of art of three Canadian artists - all of whom emigrated to...

Music, writing, and activism all tell the story of history! The resource uses these elements and more in a presentation to discuss the Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. Your class views biographies, discusses important events, and...

An outline for a research paper assignment lists the expectations, grading rubric, and due dates for an extended research writing project.

Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...

The phonemic awareness activities in this packet are designed to help kids develop skills in rhyming, syllabication, blending onsets and rimes, and beginning and ending sounds. Well worth a place in your curriculum library.

Readers of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, James L Swanson’s young adult novel, use a Venn diagram to compare information about Abraham Lincoln and the events surrounding his assassination, with the images and information presented in picture...