Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The...

Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...

What a lovely way to incorporate artwork into your language arts instructional activity. View artwork in illustrated manuscript pages, depicting insects, animals, plants, flowers, and ornate writing in the Getty Museum. Practice using...

In this economics lesson plan, students examine the principle of supply and demand related to the oil market as they identify factors that cause curves and shifts and determine equilibrium. Upper graders read an informational article and...

Trench art is a nontraditional art form created by soldiers in trenches during wartime. Artist Allison Smith connects her art to the American Revolution and the question: "What are you fighting for?" Kids examine her art, how it connects...

Although this lesson is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content and style used by...

Students explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking instructional activity, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a...

Provide pupils samples of different types of poems including haikus, narrative, nonsense, shape, and rhyming poems. In groups, class members read the poems, establish their general meaning, identify poetic devices, and rate the poems,...

Combine the study of poetry and non-fiction texts with this complete and ready-to-use six-week unit. After reading numerous poems from local writers and compiling a personal anthology, high schoolers find and read a memoir or biography...

In this historical events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about bank failure and respond to 2 talking point questions.

We often wait until adulthood to start analyzing learning styles. This informative and interesting presentation delves into how we learn. It is a quick and insightful look at how students perform in school. The information could be...

Helpful for any reading comprehension lesson, this learning exercise focuses on Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven. It contains three levels of questions: Right There (comprehension-level questions), Think and Search (questions...

Reveal how Greek Mythology can play into American politics through this political cartoon, where President Obama is depicted as Sisyphus. Background information gives scholars access to the cartoon's context, and three talking points...

Censorship remains a hot topic among teens. Evoke heated discussion with this political cartoon analysis handout, which features 2 cartoons focused on China's internet censorship. Background information gives pupils a brief description...

Satire, sarcasm, or irony? Editorial cartoons have long been the tool artists use to express their opinions about politics and politicians. Kevin "Kai" Kallaugher's four-panel cartoon offers readers an opportunity to examine how he uses...

In celebration of renowned cartoonist Herb Block's Library of Congress exhibition, this handout includes 2 of his famous political cartoons for scholars to analyze. Background information describes "Herblock's" career, and talking points...

A large pig labeled "Stimulus Package" wrapped in an American flag is the primary image on this political cartoon. Ready for analysis, this worksheet provides learners with the opportunity to understand the pros and cons of US spending...

The octopus is a commonly used symbol in political cartoons. Help your scholars examine why it has been used in this way throughout history. Three cartoons depict different uses of the octopus. Background information helps gives context...

Get on those thinking caps, because your class is going to analyze a political cartoon related to the 2008 presidential elections. Included is a large image of the cartoon, background information, and three guiding questions which can be...

The power of signs and signals. Viewers use various body parts to illustrate how gestures convey meaning and how the meaning of these gestures may differ among racial and cultural groups, between men and women, or have meaning to...

Using examples from Socrates to Johnny Carson, this slideshow presents your students with the history and definition of dramatic irony, satire, situational irony, and tragic irony. This presentation would be useful in a language arts...

After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...