To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...

Who is Mo Willems? Explore the author with your class. Learners read books written by Willems, compare and contrast the characters therein, and make predictions about what will happen. Finish off this author study by having small groups...

Students learn about and identify feelings of happiness, sadness and disappointment. In this feelings lesson, students have a show and tell time about their pets and discuss how it would feel if they lost their pet. Students watch a...

Students make an accordion book to show information that is associated with a particular learning event. In this accordion book lesson, students follow paper-folding directions to make the book. They fill the book with key facts and...

The apostrophe is a punctuation mark that is often incorrectly-used. This short, but effective, presentation addresses that fact. One way to use them is when showing possession in writing. Learners are coached on when to use possessive...

This detailed lesson plan from New York Times' The Learning Network centers around Carroll Academy and its girl's basketball team. Learners compare their school to Carroll Academy, read anywhere from 1 to 5 engaging articles about the...

Study matter in a new way with a cross-curricular assignment for language arts and math. Learners answer five reading comprehension questions after reading a few paragraphs about the periodic table, properties of elements, and how atoms...

Show your scholars how adding an affix changes the entire meaning of a word; they focus on the suffix -able. You'll find a complete script here, but if you don't want to read this verbatim, use it simply as an outline. Learners...

Does your class love The Simpsons? It might seem dated, but with reruns constantly popping up on television, this show still holds the attention of most of your learners. Play the opening sequence of an episode, and brainstorm any...

What happens next? That is a great question that requires learners to think about the sequence of events then make a prediction. They assess the pictures on the left and draw lines to the pictures on the right that show what will happen...

Where would you go if you were to take a trip around the world in 10 days? After a discussion about famous inspirational quotes, pupils view a short film that shows a trip around the world in 10 days paired with these quotes. Class...

To develop their reading comprehension skills, learners read short paragraphs, summarize the passage in one sentence, and then develop an appropriate title that indicates the main idea of the selection.

Similes and metaphors make writing more beautiful and detailed, but can be a little harder to decipher during a first reading. Use a passage from The Man Who Loved Words to show young readers how to think through passages that...

Master Jane Austen's language from A to Z with an activity based on Pride and Prejudice. As kids read the novel, they find (or are assigned) words that begin with each letter of the alphabet, and create one-page documents that show...

Reinforce research skills, close reading, teamwork, and biographical writing skills with one collaborative instructional activity. Groups create slide shows detailing the elements of a biography through a presentation on a famous...

The Lord of the Flies and The Kite Runner are the core texts in a unit that asks learners to examine various texts that show how fear can be a destructive force or it can be an agent of change. Individuals they design a project that...

Looking for suggestions on how to organize a creating writing workshop? For topic suggestions appropriate for various grade levels? Check out a resource packet, designed for English language arts instructors, that is packed with ideas...

Tone and Mood are not synonymous! Introduce young readers to these literary devices with a series of exercises that not only point out the significant differences between the terms but also shows them how to identify both the tone and...

Learn how to correctly analyze and score a written performance task. Example work shows annotated think alouds for grading. Teachers also have access to graphic organizers for helping writers succeed,

Seventh graders become museum conservators and undertake the hypothetical restoration of an ancient American work of art. Groups design a plan for reconstructing the work of art, outlining the steps they need to take and the materials...

Study the beauty of the landscape around you with an innovative art lesson plan. After discussing the foreground, background, and middle ground of landscape art, kids work on making their own piece of landscape art. The lesson plan...

Based in sound Educational Theory, this lesson uses art to convey the story of Ponce de Leon. Mild to moderately disabled students hear the story of the Fountain of Youth, examine a paining of Ponce de Leon, and act out a scene as Ponce...

How can art represent math? Use a instructional activity on place value collages to illustrate the different meanings that numbers have in their designated places. Kids observe photographs and paintings that show place value, then work...

Young scholars hone their skills at identifying the principle story in a work of art and text. Through discussion, students assess the central and supporting stories of a work of art that is characterized by multiple layers of action and...