Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...

Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and...

Students identify the uses of common computer peripheral devices (printer, digital camera, scanner, LCD display). They incorporate technology into a research project or unit investigation. They work on sizing pictures and putting all...

Shell Silverstein’s “Sick” provides an opportunity for kids to demonstrate their understanding of syllables and phonemes. The class creates a list of descriptive words used in the poem that have more than one syllable, and brainstorm how...

While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

Students explore the world of African masks and storytelling. They create masks that tell stories of their own.

Art is a great way to convey or express an idea. Learners choose an idiom, draw it, and use transfer paper to create photograms. They discuss how why they chose the phrase they did, and how they expressed that idea through their...

Young scholars create a logo design to express their own identity. In this logo design lesson, students list ten words to describe who they are and choose two of them to use in a logo. Young scholars draw images and choose various forms...

Fourth graders write and perform an original song about Indiana. After learning the lyrics of the song "On the Banks of the Wabash," students write lyrics to their own song about Indiana with assistance from the instructor. They...

Pupils design emergency shelters.  In this designing emergency shelters lesson, students discuss living conditions of people after a natural disaster.  Pupils discuss the tsunami that struck East Asia.  Students design...

Middle schoolers create paper bridges. In this geometry and architecture lesson plan, groups use legal paper and paper clips to design a bridge that will hold 100 pennies. Links to mini-lessons exploring stability of different geometric...

High schoolers research and analyze different seating devices. Once research is completed, information is compiled into a research paper including examples, images, and descriptions of seating devices. Students use research to sketch and...

Students observe pieces of art and look for the principle story the artwork portrays. They compare the techniques artists and authors use to focus on and support these essential stories. They create a piece of art that portrays a given...

Young scholars examine the painting style of Henri Matisse and Fauvism. They view and discuss a PowerPoint presentation on Fauvism and Henri Matisse, conduct Internet research, create a list of characteristics of the Fauvism style, and...

Fifth graders investigate coral reefs and the dangers they face by labeling and drawing.  In this oceanography lesson, 5th graders view a PowerPoint presentation of photographs of coral reefs in Belize.  Students investigate...