Increasing pressure to improve student achievement has made it easy to overlook the social skills they also need to develop. With this collection of worksheets and activities, you'll be able to improve children's...

Students express their feelings about their neighbors and how to be kind to others. Teacher and students discuss the meaning of philanthropy and how they can be kind to others. After reading a particular trade book, students are assessed...

Students complete a series of activities based on the book, Mira, culminating in the presentation of a play. Included in the 21 activities are puppeteering, drawing, and reciting poetry.

Middle schoolers consider how an author creates a feeling of suspense in a reader's mind. They analyze characters in the story. Students make a character map for Peter. They discuss how suspense unfolds in the novel Number the Stars.

Fourth graders participate in a play to work on seeing events from a different perspective. Some of them are reporters, some cameramen and women, and others are interviewed. They put themselves in the shoes of the people in the book...

In this literature worksheet, students respond to 12 short answer and essay questions about Bradbury's Farenheit 451. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Second graders investigate philosophy by researching the life of Mahatma Gandhi.  In this biographical lesson, 2nd graders listen to a reading of the book "Gandhi" and make a character map of his actions, feelings and thoughts....

Students create a "handprint rainbow" to show that together people can make beautiful things. For this character education lesson, students are read the book, "God's Dream," and discuss the emotions of themselves and the characters....

Students investigate freedom. In this character development and U.S. history lesson plan, students participate in role playing in which the teacher assigns recess restrictions including whom they play with and what they play. Students...

Third graders develop an appreciate for the various cultures that are present in their local community. Through reading and research, they explain how various culture came to live in their area. At the conclusion of the unit, 3rd...

Students use the book "I Like Me!" to create a context for investigating self-concept (how one feels about self). They have the objective of realizing their rights and responsibilities. Students work in small groups conducting interviews...

Students read the book "Tsunami!" and discuss natural disasters and how they can prepare. This lesson plan is much more than a study of tsunamis. The lesson plan is chock-full of ways to study the Japanese culture across the curriculum....

The characters in The Grapes of Wrath come to life through an activity that asks groups to craft a dramatic monologue for a character in John Steinbeck's National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning novel.  Writers are...

Learners practice reading comprehension of an Australian folktale. In this Australian folktale instructional activity, students read the story, Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail, before completing retells with character puppets, discussing...

Young scholars explore heroism. In this character development and Holocaust lesson, students generate adjectives that describe familiar heroes. Young scholars view a video clip that includes testimonies of Holocaust survivors, and...

Learners listen to the story Jeffrey and the Sloth and relate the story to how it feels to have writer's block. In this Jeffrey and the Sloth activity, students use this book to inspire their creative writing process. Learners create...

For this reading worksheet, students participate in a 2 character reader's theater play based on the book If You Take a Mouse to School.

Learners explore the definition of philanthropy as it relates to bullying. In this moral values lesson, students listen to the book Thank you, Mr. Falker and identify how the main character was bullied. Learners define philanthropy, and...

Students discuss the idea of 6 word memoirs. In this technology lesson, students explore how using a small number of words sometimes is the best. Students practice using 6 word memoirs writing six words for various nursery rhymes and...

Second graders practice their creative writing by using descriptive words.  In this language arts lesson, 2nd graders utilize their best descriptive writing to elaborate on one of 20 different bean bag characters.  Students...

Students read and analyze the play "The Diary of Anne Frank" based on the book of the same name. They identify philanthropic concepts and values in the play and discuss the ways in which specific characters actions affect the events....

Students, in groups, research one of the following: Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Schizophrenia, and any other disorders that...

Students read Bartholomew and the OObleck by Dr. Seuss and experiment with solids and liquids.  In this science and reading instructional activity, students observe and discuss the properties of liquids and solids.  Students...

Learners complete activities with the book Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In this literature lesson, students read this story and view the Dust Bowl history from the eyes of a child. They discover the Great Depression and life in...