When faced with a challenge, how do your pupils respond? Starting with character analyses, learners participate in a lesson about appearances and perseverance. They watch a short film, talk about common English expressions, and write a...

Students explore the composition and function of blood through a variety of media and hands-on experiences. This lesson is a very good introduction to blood and the circulatory system.

Seventh graders explore nutrition and the effect it has by participating in class discussions.  In this diet and exercise lesson, 7th graders analyze print advertisements and discuss how unrealistic their expectations are and how...

Students explore and react to the painting The Road to Santa Fe. In this interacting with art instructional activity, students locate various objects in the painting.  Students copy the angle of objects by using their bodies. ...

Young chefs follow the set-by-step instructions of a recipe and use their prior knowledge of the body parts of a spider to make edible spider cookies.  After completing a pre-writing graphic organizer they then write a "how to"...

Pupils identify characteristics of good poetry and compose their own.  For this marine poetry lesson, students are introduced to several different types of poetry with a marine theme.  After discussing the elements...

Third graders write a thank-you note and a formal letter of request that included relevant information, such as a return address, date, inside address, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature. They write an imaginary letter to...

Students explore reasons for varied salinity in bodies of water. In this geographical inquiry lesson, students use a variety of visual and written information including maps, data tables, and graphs, to form a hypothesis as to why the...

Students use proper writing techniques to write an effective description of the best or worst meal they have ever eaten.  In this proper writing techniques lesson, students review the parts of a composition and discuss was to...

Students identify characteristics of a hero, then write a narrative composition describing a heroic event.

Learners brainstorm and outline ideas for their autobiography. They begin composition of it as well. Students create a timeline of important events to help them get started and discuss the elements of a what makes a good story.

Students write a composition comparing and contrasting two portraits. In this comparing and contrasting lesson, students will observe two portraits and compare them through their writing. They then will write a letter to the artists...

Students explore performing arts by reading a children's book in class. In this body movement lesson, students read the book Dance and create their own artistic impressions based on dancing images from the book. Students share their...

Students are able to revise their own essays for greater clarity and fluency, adding explanation where needed and cutting extraneous information where appropriate. They are able to compose an academic essay with a complete introduction,...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson plan...

Relate the structure of the essay to the structure of a building. The class compares an essay to a building, with the writer being the architect, the introduction being the foundation, and so on. They use the visual representation of a...

What do writing and dance have in common? They both have a six-trait rubric for assessment. Just like a good story, a good dance must have a hook, beginning, middle, end,  logical sequence, and a climax. Learners use a...

Students review Emily Dickinson's biography and examine themes and forms of some of her poems. They measure ways Graham integrates aspects of Dickinson's life and the themes and forms of her poetry into Letters to the World.

Students define and discuss personal pastimes, listen to the story Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, discuss owling as rural pastime, demonstrate comprehension by writing responses to story, and discuss how climate and geography often determine...

What is plagiarism? Middle schoolers create a class definition of plagiarism and examine the importance of crediting people for their ideas. They review official school policy on plagiarism and study the consequences of presenting the...

After reading on the topic of their paper, high schoolers work in pairs to assess how to write powerful, precise thesis statements. The introduction contains three statements: a universal statement, a bridge statement, and a thesis...

Though beautiful, William Shakespeare's prose can be inhibiting for learners who are new to his works. A instructional activity based on The Tempest guides high schoolers through the paraphrasing process, including noting the...

Third graders examine various exercises in order to distinguish between exercises designed to increase muscular strength and those designed to improve muscular endurance. Groups create a presentation for their "clients" to explain the...

Students write Sun and Moon poetry. In this poetry lesson, students research the sun and the moon.  They write poetry and create two class baskets for descriptive words about each.