Creating buildings that reach hundreds of feet into the sky is no easy task. The third instructional activity in this series begins with four activities that engage young architects in exploring the major challenges that are faced when...

This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will...

To conclude their study of World War II, world history students are charged with creating a children's book, comic book, or graphic novel that depicts the causes of the war. Using images from the Internet or their own illustrations,...

After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and an article about the use of the novel, class members engage in a Socratic seminar focused on whether or not Twain's book should be banned.

Animals are the theme of this series of challenge activities. Extend scholars' learning opportunities by writing personal narratives and book reports, creating picture and alphabet books, and drawing scenes from stories read aloud.

A reading of Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia launches a study of idioms. Groups then select several idioms, write the meaning of the expressions, draw or select images, and use GIMP or Photoshop to create an idiom book. 

Scholars view the film Reach for the Skies to learn about the Shangai Tower. Following a discussion and observation of premade shapes, pairs design and construct a tower using uncooked pasta, straws, newspaper, tape, and marshmallows....

Greed is the theme of the West African folktale, Anansi Goes to Lunch and this multidisciplinary collection of lessons. First, scholars listen to a read aloud and participate in a grand conversation about the book's key details and...

After examining a piece of art, scholars discuss what they see, paying close attention to details and space. A read-aloud introduces the topic of family traditions. Pupils interview their family members about a tradition in preparation...

After reading Loree Leedy's There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me, kids create and illustrate their own poems that convey the meaning of an idiom. The poems are then transferred into Shutterfly's Photo...

An instructive lesson provides the basics on how to perform rotations on the coordinate plane. The handout also covers rotating about a point other than the origin and how to perform a series of transformations. 

Young scientists construct an understanding of molecular compounds in this hands-on science lesson. Using LEGO® to model the atoms of different elements, students build molecules based on the chemical formulas of common compounds.

Four lessons, each following the same routine, explore the careers of a teacher, nurse, electrician, geologist, plumber, and police officer. After listening to a read-aloud and thoughtful discussion, young scholars construct puppets...

In an introductory lesson, youngsters take a pre-assessment quiz, get a grasp of a gram of mass, and then estimate the mass of microorganisms that live within a human body. Using Glo Germ™, a material that allows you to simulate the...

Every healthy classroom community is built on a foundation of respect. Through whole group discussions, shared readings, and collaborative activities this activity teaches children how to be respectful of one another, making for a much...

Spring is the theme of this unit of extra support lessons. Your early readers enhance their skills using chants, practice worksheets, picture cards, and alphabet cards. Topics include identifying syllables, beginning sounds /w/, /g/,...

Scholars become architects in an engaging unit on building structures. The Reading Adventure Pack features Roberto: The Insect Architect by Nina Laden and Construction Zone with photographs by Richard Sobol and text by Cheryl Willis...

Young writers personalize their journals by making their own. Whether they make covers for existing journals or make their own books, the activity encourages kids to express themselves in words and images.

Do students really need to be taught how to read cartoons, comic books, and comic strips? Yes. Just as they need to learn how to read other forms of graphic text such as diagrams, photos, timetables, maps, charts, and tables. Young...

After completing Chapter 5 of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, readers make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections to Victor Martinez's novel by crafting journal entries addressing comments and questions to characters in...

Readers of Man's Search for Meaning use context clues, create stories using words from the text, and retype these stories as part of their vocabulary study of Viktor Frankl's book.

What do your pupils want to save up their money for? Based around the book The Pickle Patch Bathtub, this lesson covers opportunity cost, saving, and spending. Learners participate in a discussion and practice making their own...

Discover the family histories that make the classroom with a family tree activity. Scholars locate information about their family, construct a family tree, and work together to tally where family members are born.  

Have you ever heard someone say the movie is not like the book? Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment to compare scenes from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to the movie version. The assessment contains short answers, multiple choice,...