Look at life from a bug's perspective, and create a wonderful image based on what you think it sees. Learners use the crayon resist painting technique to draw and paint and picture of a bug's world from its point of view. Tip: This would...

Take learners on a journey throughout the world to discover how other people live. Scholars experience a taste of what life feels like for those in poverty and without housing. Activities include discussions, building a cardboard house,...

Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...

Students design a photo essay. In this photo essay lesson plan, students take digital pictures of their daily activities such as their mode of travel to school, the lunchroom, their classroom and classmates. They choose the photos that...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

A well-designed lesson on the life cycle of the butterfly is here for you. In it, young scientists spend 45 minutes a day, for one school week, engaged in their study. They take nature walks, participate in activities in centers, listen...

The American Civil War was a complex test of a relatively young democracy in the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss the events and factors that led to the Civil War with a thorough slideshow presentation.

Prior to reading Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members are presented with a problematic situation and to rate their responses as well as predict the responses of a character from the novel.

Explore pond life and action words through Denise Fleming's In the Small, Small Pond, which you can find online if you don't have it on hand. Learners explore the following verbs: doze, hover, plunge, scatter,...

Students examine a day from the point of view of a homeless person. They listen to and discuss two stories, identify ways to help homeless people, watch a Reading Rainbow video, and write an essay.

Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.

Students research questions related to sports medicine. They write an essay from the questions and create professional email accounts to email a professional in their field of interest. In addition, they interview their professional and...

Take a close look at a few paragraphs of Martin Luther King, Jr.s' famous speech, "I Have a Dream." Class members fill in the missing words using the bank of words provided and then respond to a question about the speech and modern day...

Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the...

The Alaskan wilderness contains every imaginable element of the water cycle: it has flowing streams, cool spring rain, and frozen glaciers. Pupils use a series of worksheets to identify and define evaporation, condensation, and...

Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...

First graders access prior knowledge about pumpkins and read the story Pumpkin, Pumpkin. They will sequence the life cycle of the pumpkin through the use of picture cards and then sing a song about the life cycle of the pumpkin and plant...

Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...

Learn about the destruction of the rainforest by analyzing statistics. Young learners make an original line graph showing destruction in the rainforest. Additional activities include making a collage, sequencing Dr. Seuss' The...

Determine your class's prior knowledge about the necessities of life with this pre-assessment for a unit on living things. Learners draw pictures of themselves with all the things they need to live, grow, and survive. These drawings will...

How do different parts of the world experience day and night? Introduce scholars to the concept of global citizenship while teaching about animal behavior with discussion of nocturnal and diurnal animals. Then, learners complete...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty...

Walking through the ancient Nabataean city of Petra can be a challenge. A tour begins with a 20-minute walk down a rocky slope through the narrow Siq to get to the famous Treasury known to Indiana Jones fans. But that is...