Students investigate the concept of a hero. In this character education lesson, students define courage and discuss heroes they know. Students brainstorm ways to describe a hero and create an acrostic poem.

Students examine how artists express the Muses through the arts. In this art and history lesson, students work cooperatively to identify the Greek Muses, Graces and the Fates. Students will identify the attributes of each, participate in...

Young poets demonstrate their understanding of a character from Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street by crafting a biopoem that captures the essence of this person.

This online, interactive quiz highlights 10 English sayings. The adage is bolded, and learners must choose one of three options that correctly highlight the adage's meaning. What's great is that the user can access immediate feedback by...

"Leadership is learned, and everyone has the potential to be a leader." From modeling the way to encouraging the heart, learners discover the five practices of exemplary leadership through a series of rich, hands-on, collaborative...

The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...

Who was Walt Whitman, and what link does he have to president Abraham Lincoln?  After Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" This poem and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" are the focus of...

Here's an activity designed to encourage character analysis. Readers craft a biopoem for a character in Orson Scott Cards' popular science fiction novel Ender's Game.

Explore the unique characteristics of polymers. A complete lesson begins with a presentation introducing polymers. Following the presentation, young scientists develop a laboratory plan for creating substances using polymers. They...

Teasing, mocking, and disrespect can be the hallmarks in the life of those with disabilities. Disrupt the cycle of abuse with a toolkit designed to turn peers into advocates for all those who are bullied. Everything needed to create a...

To gain a better understanding of characters in Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, kids create a biopoem for one of her characters.

What do lemurs do best? They move! Lemurs like to jump, run, hop, and climb and it's your class's job to document seven fun lemur behaviors. The class starts by discussing why lemurs are considered primates, and then they isolate seven...

Brighten your third grade classroom with this series of colorful Common Core displays. Including all of the English Language Arts standards and substandards, each with supporting illustrations and examples, this resource provides clear...

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

As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.

Young scholars discuss their role and importance of being a part of a community. After listening to a story, discuss how an artist's memories affected his pieces. Using the internet, they research the different roles of community members.

Sixth graders are introduced to cultural history and diversity that is present in the community in which they live by examining secular and sacred celebrations. Students create scrapbooks to chronicle their family's celebrations.

Seventh graders modernize a fairy tale, then compare their version with he original version and determine whether or not they've changed the author's original intent.

Students identify the types of transformations in their lives. As a class, they determine the ones they have control over and which ones they do not. They practice solving problems in math and oral communication that they are faced with...

Readers of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale demonstrate their understanding of the play by selecting a character and crafting a bio poem that reveals his or her fears and aspirations.

Here’s a catchy way to study characterization. Readers of The Catcher in the Rye select a character from Salinger’s classic tale to use as the subject of a biopoem. A teacher sample is provided.

Eighth graders investigate art appreciation and Renaissance portraits through time. They create a portrait.

Theodore Taylor's The Cay provides the text for an assignment that asks each reader to craft a biopoem for one of the characters.

Students examine family structures. For this family structure lesson, students discover things about their own families and those of their classmates. They make a chart as they discuss nature versus nurture, complete a worksheet about...