Tenth graders explore the importance of peace in society.  In this Global History instructional activity, 10th graders create a common vocabulary for the different elements that exist in a peaceful society.  Students discover...

Creative! Youngsters listen to the reading of "Recipe for a Hippopotamus Sandwich" by Shel Silverstein as a warm up activity for a lesson in punctuation. They use bread-shaped pages, one for each type of punctuation, to identify which...

Students discover how a president spends the day. In this presidential history lesson, students research primary sources in order to write their own diaries for presidents that include suggestions of laws, managing personnel, budgeting,...

Students visit appropriate websites to discover quotes from Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Working in pairs, they choose three quotes on which to elaborate and then write two original quotes.

Third graders create an autobiography on the computer. They write, design and illustrate using word processing and graphic tools on the computer.

Fourth graders study Chaucer as a master of details. Then, they create a short story linking unrelated details into a logical plot with a clear setting and established characters. This lesson has some excellent worksheets attached!

High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...

Students interview, record, and retell school stories of a family member. They research, document, and describe how schools have changed over time.

Students discuss and define folklore, locate town of Sleepy Hollow, NY, on map, calculate distance from Sleepy Hollow to their school, if applicable, review vocabulary list from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, read story aloud, and write...

Eighth graders read a book whose main character has a physical disability, and complete various related activities. They listen to a guest speaker, simulate experiences at school as a disabled individual through the use of wheelchairs,...

Fourth graders explore writing as a way to communicate. In this writing lesson, 4th graders articulate how they feel about an issue in their lives. Students share their works.

High schoolers defend Mark Twain and the study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn using persuasive techniques, appropriate word choice, and correct letter format, in response to a fictional letter by an upset parent.

Young scholars reflect and explore their feelings and reactions to a segregation experiment through poetry. They discuss acceptable behavior during the experiment and the next day write journal entries reflecting their experiences.

Third graders review common fairy tales and work in teams to rewrite the fairy tales as news articles. They answer questions using the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why). Student articles include eye-catching headlines.

Third graders discuss books that have been banned and the things that they have in common. They explore the concept of freedom of speech and write poems based on their discussion.

Students view and discuss a video on the legend of the Hope Diamond then compare and contrast other tales such as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed. They analyze basic characteristics of these legends then use descriptive...

Eighth graders discuss invention of bicycle and early obstacles to riding, listen to and discuss short story "Taming the Bicycle" by Mark Twain, define vocabulary words from story, and create and present humorous "how to" project to...

Students thank their freedom fighters. In this Veteran's Day lesson, students honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces by designing a program to pay tribute to them. Students use technology tools to conduct interviews, take pictures, and...

High schoolers explore surreal art and poetry. In this visual arts lesson, students examine works by André Breton, Robert Desnos, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miro. High schoolers then apply the techniques in the works they analyze to their...

Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...

Students work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. Working in groups, they write a scene for the movie that is historically accurate and based on the kinds of...

Students investigate weather and climate through a variety of interdisciplinary activities.

Third graders read and discuss "The Hangman" by Maurice Ogden and answer questions about the poem. They list things they can do to combat prejudice using each of the letters in the word and create a small poster with a slogan against...