Keeping readers focused during literature discussion circles can sometimes be a challenge. Check out this worksheet that ensures accountability by establishing six very specific, very different roles for group members: facilitator,...

Ask learners to focus on one scene in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in order to write an analytical essay about Twain's ideas surrounding childhood. The final assignment in a unit, this writing prompt requires learners...

First graders compare versions of the Three Little Pigs.  In this comparison lesson, 1st graders read several version of the Three Little Pigs and compare the situations, characters, settings, solutions, emotions and costumes. ...

Students listen to popular music of the 50's and 60's to make literature connections to The Outsiders. For this popular culture lesson, students evaluate and analyze various songs and connect them with the themes in the literature...

Second graders practice their reading comprehension by analyzing stories they read in class. In this children's literature lesson, 2nd graders are assigned to read a book for 20 minutes each day in class and also reflect on it in their...

Second graders analyze color theory and collage techniques through the creation of collages in the style of artist/author Eric Carle. Color experiments and may hands-on section allow this lesson to be very informative and fun for the...

First graders practice their letter writing skills by writing to a fictional character.  For this formal writing lesson, 1st graders read the books The Jolly Postman and Frog and Toad are Friends to examine the different parts of a...

Students research the city of Lisbon and state its importance in the European community. They choose their own examples to explain that connect music, visual arts and literature of the area. They create their own presentation that shows...

Have learners choose activities to complete based on the books by Laura Joffe Numeroff. They are introduced to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the other books in this series through prereading activities. They then construct a portfolio...

Students examine the diverse and unique journeys of men. After reading various pieces of literature, they identify any rites of passage or change in the characters. They write in their reflective journals sharing their thoughts on the...

Students connect their lives to a story or nonfiction text. In this reading connections lesson plan, students make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections as they complete connections stems based on a story.

Fourth graders share their thoughts and feelings about friendship and death and connect them with those of the characters in the book, The Bridge to Teribithia. They complete a friendship picture book and write a letter as one of the...

Students read and translate a 19th-century American ghost tale into a Japanese hanging scroll in this exciting lesson for middle-level Language Art classes. The lesson can be completed in four or five days.

Students define the term philanthropy and find examples of it in everyday life. In this philanthropy lesson, students try to define philanthropy and illustrate it. Students then work in groups to define the term and create a web for the...

First graders create a venn diagram with two folktales. In this folktale lesson, 1st graders read Cinderella and Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe. They find the similarities and differences and chart these on a venn...

Third graders explain the definition of integrity and respect and provide examples from the story The Lost and Found's characters and their own lives that illustrate both. They describe in their journals why and how they think Wendell...

Students read excerpts from Annie Dillard's memoir, "An American Childhood," with the teacher. They experience opportunities to connect English, science, nature and art together from a new and unique perspective. This approach serves as...

How would Jean-Etiénne Liotard paint the characters from "The Little Mermaid?" What would the main character from "The Little Match Girl" look like from Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes' point of view? After examining various paintings...

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...

Learners identify cause and effect relationships in a short story. After reading a short story, they participate in a discussion of how one event in a story can lead to several others. Students are then paired for a matching task that...

Learners read Chickens Aren't the Only Ones by Ruth Heller. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of animals that come from eggs. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies,...

Students read In The Small Small Pond by Denise Fleming. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of the pond ecosystem. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library...