Every child is an author with this engaging reading activity. First the class reviews the various parts of a book such as the title, author, dedication, and author-biography. Then each individual will choose a story of their...

Pupils analyze the components of a book to use it as a model for the creation of their own book. The title, author, illustrator, front cover, back cover, dedication page, and author are examined in this activity.

Young scholars explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own...

Students explore the influence of African-American artists, writers, and musicians on American culture. After researching different figures in these areas, they create collages representing each person's life and legacy.

High schoolers collaborate to create a children's book. In this visual arts lesson, student study the components and procedures that go into making a children's book including the shape, size. layout, biographical information about the...

Students recognize heroic authors and illustrators and create their own comic strips. In this language arts activity, students examine characteristics of heroes and work in groups to create their own comic strips and hero books.

Learners explore the relationship between the form of books and the content inside. In this book exploration lesson, students use a piece of their creative writing as inspiration; they author a written book and design a cover that...

Students express themselves through art and writing at the same time in this lesson. Students create paper doll versions of themselves. Students write a biography of their dolls.

Students closely examine chamber music as it has changed from the Middle Ages to today. They work in small groups to research the composers, instruments and typical presentation in 5 time periods. They write biographies and share their...

Everything old is new again. The Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum presents a instructional activity on how Greek black-figure painting influenced eighteenth century Neoclassical artists. After looking at a series of examples, class...

Students create Faberge-inspired art objects, depicting events in modern Russian history since Peter Carl Faberge's death in 1920. Students research the life of Peter Faberge. They write a short biography explaining how he became an...

Students explore human anatomy by creating a science book in class. In this skeletal structure lesson plan, students identify the different body systems such as muscular, nervous, skeletal, and digestive. Students create a picture book...

Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of...

Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...

Young scholars explore, examine and study August Wilson's 10-play series where each play focuses on a particular decade. They discuss each play in depth and then speculate on the possible plots for an eleventh play set in the 21st century.

Students investigate equality and racism by creating a word art project.  In this civil rights lesson, students discover the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and create a word art project using the Internet site Wordle Web. ...

Students research three African-American musicians and compose a report based upon their research in this Music Appreciation lesson for the middle level classroom. The lesson could be adapted for various student levels and abilities.

Students examine the journey of the Ballou Marching Band. In this America's Promise lesson, students read about Colin Powell and examine the history of America's Promise. Students explore the Five Points of the program and then watch a...