Second graders listen to the tale, "The Tortoise and the Hare" and discuss the moral of the story. Afterward, they brainstorm words that encouraged the Tortoise to accomplish his goal. Students then review the concept of goal setting and...

Fifth graders discuss how a positive self-image can improve their school community. In groups, they are given a set of card in which they examine the role of each. After being given the presenter card, they create a collage about their...

Here's an exercise designed for the Common Core Literacy Standard L.11-12.6 that asks learners to demonstrate their ability to put together all they have learned about language. The first activity is based on a passage from Rosencrantz...

Whether using Touching Spirit Bear in the classroom, as an outside reading assignment, or in a homeschool situation, your readers will benefit from this eight-page packet of essay and discussion questions, vocabulary lists, and reading...

Vocabulary instruction works best when taught within a larger context. A vocabulary activity builds connections by using synonyms to help learn the meaning of new words. This helps connect the words to prior knowledge and give them context.

Students recognize the importance of planning for the future. They think about and project themselves into the future. Students become aware that everyone encounters challenges in life and that they can be met and obstacles can be...

Students examine the experience of female immigrants as they arrive in the United States. They create a timeline of women's rights in the U.S., write journal entries, conduct Internet research and read online excerpts from "The Promised...

First graders compare seeds and explore how they are carried through the environment.

Fifth graders investigate evidence for changes in matter that occur during a chemical reaction.

Students watch the movie "Cool Runnings", they identify and categorze examples of dreams and examples of goals reflected in the movie. They work in small groups and discuss the movie to begin to generate the concepts behind the terms...

Students identify the function of organizations, then read a news article about an organization called Room to Read that is sending books to poor countries. For this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a...

Third graders observe properties of three worms. In this living and non-living lesson, 3rd graders study characteristics of living and non-living worms. Students experiment to find how light, heat and moisture effects each of the worms....

Students explore wants and needs. In this introductory economics instructional activity, students use a "pinch card" to display whether a familiar item is a "want" or a "need". Students listen to the book Alexander used to be Rich on...

Eighth graders explore what life was like for Fort Wayne's "industrial girls." In this industrialization lesson, 8th graders discuss the conditions that the Indiana factory girls worked in as well as their backgrounds. Students also...

Third graders brainstorm a list of how they can tell if someone feels bad about themselves. As a class, they describe three different apples shown to them. Individually, they cut out shapes of apples and color them to place them on a...

Third graders listen to ways they share their feelings with others. After brainstorming situations where "I messages" would be appropriate, pairs of students write messages from the lists they developed. They discuss how their messages...

Fifth graders brainstorm a list of life-changing events. As a class, they practice making I-statements and identify what to avoid when putting them together. To end the lesson, they determine which of their statements can be used in...

Consumer technology has made it possible for filmmakers to create entire movies from the comfort of their home computer. Guide high school film buffs through the process of designing a documentary with an extensive unit published by...

Put on an eight-actor show based on Pan Munoz Ryan's When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson. The resource comes with a color-coded script that includes some images from the picture book.

If you'd always wanted an expensive swimming pool, how would you make the money to build it? Kids read a short passage about a quest to create a dream swimming pool, and use a list of words to fill in eight spaces throughout the...

Students explain what the purpose of an interview is and know what the different types of interviews are. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to gain practice with a variety of interview situations.

students examine three local public arts portraits of Lucy Stone. They study her role in the women's rights movement through comparative readings, Internet research, and children's literature. In addition, they gather and organize...

Students compose cover letters. In this writing skills instructional activity, students follow the provided steps to write cover letters that introduce them to potential employers.

Pupils talk about the importance and roles of family.  In this family instructional activity, students define family, identify functions of the family, discuss the importance of family, and brainstorm ways they can contribute to...