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.

Students undertake a similar (but not quite as drastic) adventure as that of Frontier House as they explore the day-to-day realities of frontier life through a Laura Ingalls Wilder story, and reflect on which time period suits them...

Fourth graders read and take quizzes over the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Students write a diary entry or a letter from the viewpoint of a character in a myth.  In this Aztec myths lesson plan, students define myths and read "The Heart of Copil" and "The Eagle of Tenochtitlan" and find the land of...

High schoolers examine how Chief Joseph attempted to challenge stereotypes about Native Americans. In this Native American history instructional activity, students read "An Indian's Views of Indian Affairs," and then paraphrase the...

Young scholars imagine what it was like to be part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this Lewis and Clark Expedition lesson, students watch "East Meets West: Americans on the Move," and then write journal entries from the...

Students listen as the teacher reads "Possum Magic" to them. They watch the movie of the book, and create a T graph illustrating the differences and similarities between the book and movie. They research an animal and print a picture in...

Students study scanning and skimming techniques. For this research skills lesson, students use the research techniques on print literature about the Mississippi River. Students prepare book talks on the literature they read.

Fifth graders identify the causes and effects of several different kinds of severe weather phenomenon. They read an excerpt from John Muir's book The Mountains of California and research one of the following severe weather phenomena...

Students read the "The Journey Begins" article and discuss why people want to discover new lands and why it is still exciting today. They are introduced to the idea that Lewis and Clark sent back discoveries to President Thomas...

Students create family banners. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop language, creative thinking, and social awareness by creating banners about their families.

Students look at life for immigrants in the 19th century. In this immigrant lesson, students discuss how the poor German, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants lived in tenement housing. They research the reasons they came to America...

For this lesson, you will need access to "Notes from the Trail." Your learners will read the day's text, and identify the most important or significant event in the journal entry. Not many prompting questions are provided, and some of...

Elementary schoolers explore 3-D shapes. They transition from thinking of shapes as only 2-D. Pupils read Cinderella as a launching activity for their upcoming adventure, and explore a new world of 3-D shapes in this introductory lesson.

Primary learners explore elements of wonder in The Nursery "Alice" by Lewis Carroll. They analyze the plot point after listening to the text. Next, they describe the imagery in various works of children's literature using the given links...

Pupils review the fantasy of Alice in Wonderland and discuss the author. After reading the poem, "Jabberwocky," they look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Working as partners, they create a list of "protmanteau" or invented words...

Students investigate the concept of a hurricane by using the cartoon series "The Magic Schoolbus" to simulate the fantasy of traveling through a hurricane. The lesson uses a KWL graphic organizer in order to guide student inquiry and as...

Fourth Graders read the book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. In the story a bulletin board flattens the main character. He is then sent in an envelope to a friend in California. During a fantasy genre language arts unit, groups of students...

Study the Revolutionary War era practice of recruiting seamen to prey upon the British shipping industry, and discuss the impact this practice had on the Colonial war efforts. Learners read and interpret recruiting advertisements for...

Elementary learners identify adjectives in sentences. They read the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll and highlight the adjectives. A good supplemental lesson if you are studying Lewis Carroll and/or "Jabberwocky."

Use photographs to entice your children to write! In this digital storytelling lesson, students study the functions of digital cameras. They review their sentence-writing skills, then take digital photos and write sentences that describe...

The subject doesn't sound to interesting, but with a child's imagination even a trip to the store can be an adventure. The class writes a narrative story about a trip to the store. They organize their stories to include an introductory...

Weight, time, length, cost, and mass are all things we can measure. Learners are introduced to the concepts they'll need to know before embarking on any measurement adventure. They are introduced to each type of measurement and types of...

Students write garden inspired poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students go out into the garden and write poems about how they feel, what they see, and what is going on in the garden.