Werner Herzog's film, Lessons of Darkness is the topic of this instructional activity on art, politics, and culture. Learners discuss the concepts of utopia, dystopia, detournment, and Scorched Earth then compose a paper which describes...

A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....

Imagine being stranded all alone on an island for 18 years. How would you survive? Class members are challenged to makes necessities out of natural materials that would likely be found on an island.

After a read-aloud of the story Goldielocks and the Three Bears, scholars gather into small groups to answer a series of questions. Peers examine the idea of smart decisions and identify three feelings of characters alongside three...

What is life like on a Native American reservation? Learn about the ways a tribal government works with a reading comprehension activity. After reading a short passage, kids use context clues to answer five comprehension questions.

Class members will dig this activity that has them trying their hand at recovering artifacts. Groups are assigned a section of a sandbox, carefully uncover the artifacts in their section, and then develop theories about who might...

Here's a packet of activities, designed to be used with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt textbook, that will engage and challenge learners who have already mastered the basic skills in a thematic unit study of traditions.

Get the scoop with a fun, engaging newspaper project. After analyzing the parts of a newspaper, including the headline, subtitles, and pictures or images, young journalists get to work by writing their own stories in a newspaper article...

The spirit of the Civil Rights Movement lives on in a more literal than figurative way in Ghost Boys. A focused lesson plan features Jewell Parker Rhodes' novel about ghosts of slain black teenagers, including the main character, Jerome,...

Giving gifts has been a part of the human experience since modern man walked the earth. Upper graders explore the culture of gift giving in Mayan times through an artistic analysis. They analyze gift giving and palace life as seen on an...

Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Ghost Boys, wanted to bring the historical legacy of Emmett Till and the current topic of racial prejudice into today's young readers' mindsets. Use a reading guide and set of discussion questions to...

Have you ever gone looking for one thing but ended up discovering something else? That is exactly what happened to Gaylen, a character in The Search for Delicious. Gaylen begins looking for a food to label as delicious, but...

What a great way to combine English language arts with your celebration of Presidents' Day! Youngsters are guided through the reading of a poem sung to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" on the jobs of the president of the United...

Looking for a new and exciting way to teach young historians the art of primary source analysis? Jazz up your lesson with a resource that asks class members to analyze photos, travel documents, and letters written by some of New Orleans'...

The Harlem Renaissance if the focus of a carefully crafted, interdisciplinary unit designed to introduce middle schoolers to the contributions key figures made to American art and culture during the period. Class members select...

What's your favorite seasonal tradition? Before viewing a stage production of A Charlie Brown Christmas, language arts students explore the music and literary themes of the story. After they have watched the show, learners compare...

Can you find the mittens? What about the reindeer—or Santa? Try an online Christmas-themed word search to add some festive language arts fun to the classroom this year.

Students assess role of art in their lives and discuss how murals can accomplish social change.

Students explore means by which community arts might be supported. In this "community" social studies lesson plan, students research various local non-profit organizations. Students role-play as members of the board of a philanthropic...

Discuss the reading comprehension strategy of summarization with your elementary schoolers! They read a chapter from their social studies textbook, Regions Near and Far, and create a map, or word web, for the chapter. They identify...

Interested in a "how and why" story to read with young students? In this storytelling lesson, readers will discuss sea creatures, focusing on practicing new terminology through retelling the story. This resource provides a list of...

Students read about the history of cattle trails and complete language arts, math, social studies, and more activities about barbed wire. In this barbed wire lesson plan, students read poetry, research changes over time, draw cattle...

Engage young ones and explain grammar with the folk tale Monkey and Rabbit Together. Using a list of verbs from the story, young readers work on verb participles and proper speech habits. The story itself is not included. Social studies...

By working cooperatively, writers will create a newspaper about the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Each member will take on a different role representing various types of newspaper writers. They will discover the history, exhibits, special...