Learners examine the meaning of genre, and specifically investigate the musical genre of grunge. They view and discuss photos, watch the video, "VH1 Storytellers: Pearl Jam," answer discussion questions, and paraphrase the lyrics to a...

Students research the history of rap and gain an understanding of the components of rap music. They experience the correlation between Shakespeare's poetry and rap music of today.

Third graders explore genre characteristics. In this genre literacy lesson, 3rd graders listen to a variety of fiction stories and classify them according to genre. Students identify common features in each genre and complete a chart by...

Sixth graders participate in mapping and other activities to understand why ancient civilizations developed as they did. In this ancient civilization instructional activity, 6th graders recognize that there were three important climate...

Students study the work of Georgia O'Keefe. They use a digital camera or scanned images from a regular camera and the PhotoShop application to create a landscape of their own which reflects the important shapes or objects in their...

First graders explore Aztec culture to gain understanding of relationship between music, recreation, and culture. Seven lessons on one page.

First graders practice their letter writing skills by writing to a fictional character.  For this formal writing lesson, 1st graders read the books The Jolly Postman and Frog and Toad are Friends to examine the different parts of a...

Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...

Flowering learners explore the concept of figurative language as it relates to poems, songs, or creative written expression. In this creative writing lesson, they complete several phrases using similes, metaphors, and...

Students create CD covers from their music-inspired drawing sessions. They compare what they drew while listening to classical, punk and rap music. They scan their drawings into Adobe Photoshop and design their cover.

High schoolers explore news photography skills. In this photojournalism lesson, students examine photographs from newspapers and magazines and discuss the attributes of quality photographs. High schoolers complete a webquest at the Kodak...

Students write a poetic analysis on a poem by Carl Sandburg. They take their previous knowledge of poetic devices and apply them to a piece of writing that displays their knowledge on a specific poem. They explain what they know about a...

Students recognize how chromatic scales create tension and pentatonic scales create relaxation as compositional techniques used to create tonality. Also, students aurally recognize the use of mixed or alternating meter as a means of...

Students identify the impact of the social injustices and Civil Rights movement on Cooke's life and career. They create lyrics to a familiar song that express a personal struggle or concern.

Students analyze the meaning of songs, how its music complements the lyrics, and how the meaning can evolve over time. They make a compelling presentation of a favorite song lyric and find inspiring sources for new songs in the...

Students study introductory history and cultural purposes of selected Japanese dance forms. They analyze the philosophical beliefs, social systems, and movement norms that influence the function and role of Japanese dance in the lives...

First graders compare versions of the Three Little Pigs.  In this comparison lesson, 1st graders read several version of the Three Little Pigs and compare the situations, characters, settings, solutions, emotions and costumes. ...

Students compose a simple melody using the notes of the D Major Scale. Criteria/Rubric for evaluation is provided with variations depending on skill level of students. A minimum of one forty-five minute class period is needed for this...

Second graders demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the reading process.

Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of private communities and the lives led by their residents. They design ideal planned communities for people featured in other Class Matters articles.

Fifth graders review and practice subject-verb agreement by cutting and pasting, and by writing a simple paragraph in which the subjects and verbs agree. They utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan to practice subject-verb agreement.

Fourth graders see how to define and then recognize a variety of propaganda techniques at work in their everyday world. Choosing one technique, they creatively demonstrate a thorough understanding from real world experiences. A very rich...

Students define the terms associated with parts of a newspaper. They identify various sections of a newspaper and the type of articles found in each and provide the responses to who? what? when? where? and why? contained in a ...

Ninth graders, while looking and examining a photograph provided to them, write a composition that exemplifies the photograph with at least three of the five composition rules illustrated with 100% accuracy. The composition is the start...