Sixth graders examine the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In this plant discovery lesson, 6th graders put in chronological order the plant discoveries of Lewis and Clark. Students understand the characteristics of leaves and find the area of...

What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...

Students explore trees and their leaves. In this tree identification lesson, students observe items and are able to identify them by the five clues they are given. Once the leaves are identified, students in each group sketch the leaves,...

Chapter nine of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath provides the text for an exercise that asks readers to think deeply about the items the Joads left behind and what these items might represent.

Students listen to the book Friends and discuss how to make friends and the characteristics of good friends. In this friends lesson, students listen to the story and practice role playing on how to make friendships.

Students visit a pumpkin farm and discuss the characteristics of a pumpkin and how they grow. They create a class story about the trip to the farm with each student supplying a sequence for the story.

After reading a short article about taiga ecosystems, middle schoolers are asked to identify the characteristics of this chilly environment.

Students explore the characteristics of winter and use invented spelling processes to describe their observations. A word wall is utilized to assist the learner through the independent writing exercises.

Poetic language is abundant in Natalie Babbitt's beautiful novel, Tuck Everlasting. Learners note the examples of similes, metaphors, and personification they find as they read, and illustrate how the language creates a sensory...

Free verse poetry is often regarded as poetry without structure, but in reality, it is a poetic form that adheres to its own poet's thought and breath patterns. Delve into the rules and famous examples of free-verse poetry with a short...

Use this simple collaborative activity to introduce the definition, art, and poetry of romanticism. Educators will have to provide the poetry, images of the art, and the survey for the learners, but by using this resource, they won't...

The characters in Lois Lowry's The Giver are rich and complex as they weave their way through the plot. Examine the character traits of one chosen person with a biopoem, which enables learners to follow a poetic format in writing a...

Students explore botany by researching plants in class. In this tree identification instructional activity, students examine a group of leaves and list the different characteristics before guessing what types of trees they came from....

Students discover the characteristics of living and non living objects without the use of sight.  In this sense of touch lesson, students touch items put in a shoe box and must identify whether the item was once living or not by...

Learners examine the life and achievements of Colin Powell. After reading an article, they discuss the role of the Secretary of State. In groups, they evaluate his successes in different regions throughout the world. They reflect on the...

Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

Students complete activities using the book The Higher Power of Lucky. For this literature lesson, students read the story and identify the parts of the story. They create a wind chime like that found in the book. 

Third graders practice using classification techniques to identify local trees.  In this plant life instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss how trees differ from other plants and what characteristics are unique to trees alone....

High schoolers analyze modernist poetry and the role of speaker in example poems. Learners study modernist poems from the Romanticism and Victorian periods as well as Wallace Stevens' "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." Using a...

Students identify the characteristics of a community. In this Seedfolks literature study lesson, the second in a unit, the teacher finishes reading the class Seedfolks and students answer comprehension questions and examine how...

Students read the novel Falling Leaves. They evaluate the repeated story lines which compose the history of narration. They analyze and defend reasons why self-esteem affects the success or failure of characters.

Slugs and snails are the focus of this life science worksheet. Student read a selection on these animals, then answer ten comprehension questions. Then, students must draw an "alien portrait" using the characteristics of slugs and snails...

Students identify and examine four heroes from history and imaginative literature. They discuss the characteristics of a hero and share perceptions of what makes a hero. By comparing and analyzing a few historical and literary figures,...

Learners explore oceanography by researching the great barracuda.  In this animal life lesson, students read several vocabulary terms dealing with ocean life and examine a drawing of a barracuda.  Learners examine the many...