Students examine American culture through research on various soap opera websites. They access a soap opera website, participate in a chat group, evaluate the contents of the website, and write a summary of a character and plot.

Students are provided with a three-column chart about a fictional character named Jip: looks, personality, and situation. After chapter 1 and chapter 2, students make notes on the charts and share that information with one other. They...

Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...

Students explore poetry and its meaning. After reading poems, students explore the literary elements such as the setting, character, problem, events and resolution. They compare and contrast descriptions given in poems. Students...

Fifth graders chart the elements of drama. In this performing arts lesson, 5th graders discuss the role of a playwrite, practice doing some Reader's Theatre scripts, write a paragraph about a problem between two people, and perform...

Students write a journal depicting a day in the life of a character and a newspaper article.  In this Warriors Don't Cry lesson, students summarize the main events of integration and find out about the life of Melba...

Students describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.

Students analyze and critique theater events by evaluating and constructing meanings from improvised and scripted scenes and from theater, film, television, and electronic media productions.

Students study about theatrical design by developing environments for improvised and scripted scenes. They develop focused ideas for an environment using visual elements.

Students identify and compare similar characters and situations in stories and dramas from and about various cultures, illustrate with classroom dramatizations, and discuss how theater reflects life.

Read your class a folk tale from Romania then discuss it. As they listen they discover how the author sets the mood using English conventions such as foreshadowing, magical elements, and they look for descriptive language while looking...

Students explore culture and change through reading "Half Main, Half Limping Rabbit" by Nina Porzucki. In this literature and cultural lesson, students discuss Dracula and other folk stories from Romania. Students identify the ways the...

What was your most (exciting, maddening, nervous, thrilling, etc.) experience in school? A part of a unit on narrative writing, in this lesson class members review the elements of the form and then choose an event when they learned a...

Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final activity in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of their...

After reading and discussing several personal narratives written by women in the 1920's, class members write a personal narrative of their own about a time in their lives they felt controlled. Sample narratives can be accessed through...

Good readers visualize. And in our image-rich culture it is imperative that children are provided with opportunities to practice this important skill. A selection from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends and Bridge to Terabithia,...

For this comprehension check worksheet, students respond to 19 short answer questions covering chapter 4 of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.

In this The Birchbark House comprehension check worksheet, students respond to 20 short answer questions covering chapters 7-8 of The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich in order to help them better understand the chapters and the novel.

Eighth graders explore the life of Jackie Robinson.  In this American History lesson, students examine different examples of courage.  Students read an article about Jackie Robinson.

Students write a poem. In this character lesson, students read a quote about trust and friendship and discuss what they mean. Students write an acrostic poem using the letters in their name and come up with a phrase or word that...

Students examine the trait of courage. In this character traits lesson, students discuss how to their face fears in order to do the right thing as they discuss the corageous acts of Jackie Robinson.

Learners investigate characteristics of friendship through literature and interviews then share their ideas through posters. They role play scenarios related to friends and problems they might have. This instructional activity reflects...

Students examine the meaning of the word icon as it relates to media and pop culture. They watch and discuss film clips, write a mini-biography, take a Film Icon Quote quiz, and write a written response to the film clips.

Fifth graders read the selection Black Cowboy, Wild Horses and identify characteristics of self-discipline shown by story's main character, Bob Lemmons. Students then identify some of their own traits of self-discipline and reflect upon...