Students read Polar, The Titanic Bear by Daisy Corning Stone Spedden. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding this true story of a toy bear that survived the sinking of the Titanic. Included are reading, art,...

Students read The Gadget War by Betsy Duffey. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding inventors and inventions. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library connections.

Students read the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God". While reading the novel, they identify and discuss the figurative language used and use a passage of interest to them and analyze it in a written paper. They also discuss events...

Fourth graders locate and evaluate various books, journals, anthologies, and Internet sources that contain information that may be used in answering the scavenger hunt questions related to Ireland and Irish literature.

Fourth graders read stories and pick one with characters they find interesting. Then students create a dialogue of writing a letter from one character to another. The letter must relate to the original story in some way that can easily...

Students explore poetry by completing a webquest in which they hear poets reading their own work. Later, they examine the dramatic impact of reading poetry out loud. Finally, they practice reading poetry aloud and performing.

Students investigate three works by the author James Baldwin. They work in groups to research the author and create a website based on the research.

Students find out that all habitats have a carrying capacity. They explore how the world's human population has grown markedly in the 20th century, and that humans impact environmental health. Students investigate that people can and...

Students examine the culture and art of the Deaf Community. They discover the history of the Deaf Community using art and their values. They compare and contrast different pieces of art.

In this books quiz activity, students complete a set of 20 questions about books and authors. Answers and links to additional activities are included.

Students discover the connection between Japanese art and Romantic literature using a variety of sources and the impact of nature on these two art forms. This lesson plan is a three-day exploration.

What is a graphic novel? How does it differ from a traditional novel? These questions launch a discussion of Fabio Celoni and Mirka Andolfo's graphic novel adaptation of The Kite Runner. Through a series of literature circle discussions,...

Have your middle schoolers participate in numerous activities designed to spark their awareness of literature. They express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions. Next, they view a music...

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...

Use picture cues as a tool in order to create meaning along with text. With a wordless comic, young illustrators discuss the main idea and character traits, and independently write a summary for a page of a wordless comic. This strategy...

Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...

How authors address issues of their societies is addressed in this very detailed lesson. After researching Toni Morrison and her work, groups create a dramatization based on a scene from one of Morrison’s novels and act it out. Class...

Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....

Is your class reading Out of the Dust? If they are, or if this is your first time teaching Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winning novel, check out the ideas in a presentation that outlines what you and your class can do while reading about...

Teaching a unit on the Holocaust? Consider using the personal statements of Dan Pagis’s poetry to contrast with the more “distanced” historical accounts found in textbooks. Five poems, discussion questions, and background notes are...

Explore ancient warfare through a dramatic reading of select portions of The Iliad with your class. They will identify the major characters in The Iliad and explain the strategies, external forces, and alliances of the Trojan War

Heroic Trading Cards? Using a suggested list, class members use the Internet to find information about a memorable leader, select and transfer images, and craft a trading card celebrating their leader’s qualities and accomplishments. A...

"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...

Is it possible to tell a true war story? Tim O’Brien says that fiction is for “getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth.” To get at the truth about war, class members examine primary source materials from the...