Here's a packet designed especially for those kids who need extra support with the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on American stories.

Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem. 

Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their eyes Were Watching God has been highly praised and severely criticized for its depiction of African American folk culture. A set of primary source materials, including photographs, articles, essays, and...

Students create their own play dough to use for art projects. In this art lesson, students measure, pour and mix the ingredients to make their own play dough. Then, students use the clay to create their own sculptures.

High schoolers research biographical facts about Edgar Allan Poe and Ambrose Bierce and complete literary analysis activities. In this biographical lesson plan, students research basic biographical facts about Poe and Bierce. High...

Students research the planets and create a "travel brochure." In this space science lesson, students read the book Magic School Bus: Lost in Space and identify various properties of each planet. Students create a brochure for a specific...

Students explore the concept of waste management. In this environmental stewardship activity, students study the nuances of the terms reduce, reuse, and recycle. Students investigate ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle many everyday items...

Class members use their knowledge of Ancient Rome to write articles for an online newspaper. Using WebBlender, learners craft articles that feature Roman politics, culture, and leisure activities.

Lead a web search for information on writers and discuss the craft of purposeful writing as a class. Your students investigate "pourquoi tales" which are "why" stories. and then write their own examples of pourquoi stories to share in a...

Students design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The lesson focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.

Complete research on Pourquoi tales and then lead your students in creating their own. This lesson accompanies another on Pourquoi Tales on our site and deals more with the writing process. Your class will put the tales together in a...

What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...

There are opposites all around you, even at school! Using an antonym word bank with playground-themed words, young learners complete sentences opposite in meaning from the ones provided.

Create an abundance of understanding, as your high school learners learn to analyze multiple love poems. Part one of this resource has learners define what love is, examine art that reflects the love between Robert and Elizabeth...

Little ones sing Christmas carols, complete craft projects, and play word games while learning new vocabulary in part one of two-part ESL lesson series.

Can your class convince the townspeople to support the rally in Carl Hiaasen's Hoot? Have your young writers exercise their persuasive writing skills in a lesson that prompts them to write a letter or a speech based on Chapter 18...

Bruce Springsteen’s “My Hometown” and Billy Joel’s “Allentown” motivate young lyricists to craft poems about their own home town. Groups compare the two songs, identifying details, symbols, and conflicts. Individuals then picture a place...

Japanese architecture is rich in symbolism and culture. Critical thinkers engage in three activities intended to expose them to the beauty of Japan. They read through the book, Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki and watch the...

Have your young pupils complete a variety of activities related to the story "I Know an Old Lady." They act-out the story using puppets, visit the illustrator's website, discuss his cartoon drawings for the book, and generate a list of...

Use a Mad-Libs like activity to create modern poetry! Writers will identify different words and their parts of speech and study "The Red Wheelbarrow" by Williams Carlos Williams. Then, use the sheets attached to craft your own poem! An...

Pairs use desktop publishing software, as well as digital video and camera equipment, to craft a book review. These reviews are then shared with others in the school community through the class or school website.

Are you looking for a way to bring writing into your history lesson - or history into your writing lesson? This cross-curricular activity is helpful and fun, no matter what class you're teaching! Using "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the...