Seniors work with teachers, counselors, and administrators to organize a community wellness fair. Committees take on the responsibility for the various tasks (publicity, set up, hospitality room, agency contact, thank you letters, etc.)....

Who doesn't need to buy groceries now and then? Prepare your special needs class for an upcoming trip to the grocery store. They practice matching the words on the shopping list to images of each item. They then use their list to locate...

Explore websites, complete research, and use technological tools to create a final multimedia presentation on what makes a community special. Learners of all ages work with a partner to research an interesting aspect of their community,...

Students explore Liverpool England's maritime history and development as an important port from its early days to the present. Through hands-on activities and community based instruction, they simulate sailing experiences and life aboard...

Students discover the meaning of philanthropy and ways in which it occurs in the home, at school, and in the community. Each student chooses one need in their own community, list opportunities to fulfill the need, then predict what might...

Third graders describe local services being provided on a tour of their town. During community-based instruction, they visit several local government buildings. Upon their return, 3rd graders document in their journals, the services...

Mirror, mirror. Hook sophomores into the benefits of positive self-talk with a lesson that asks them to reflect on the roles they play at home, at school, and in their communities. Class members fill out a “Looking At Me In My...

Four lessons and an at-home connection examine 12 jobs. Beginning with an interactive map, scholars view and discuss each one within their small group. Groups focus on the products provided and on their scarcity. Finally, pupils look...

Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...

Ready to integrate technology into your ELL instruction? Check out this reading lesson that has language learners using the Internet and apps, joining online book clubs, and creating blogs. A fine model of what can be done.

Second graders recognize and identify the need for rules in school. They also discuss the importance of safety rules at school, home, and in the community. They illustrate a rule which they have learned in class, and write letters to the...

Students discuss "their community" and the elements they have chosen to include in their ideal community by presenting to the class a collage of ideas incorporating the ideas presented by the instructional activity rubric.

Promote volunteerism in your art or writing classes. In this service learning lesson, middle schoolers create promotional materials that include photographs and newspaper articles based on their personal service experiences in local...

Work out your core, Common Core State Standards, through the first workshop in a series of 15 designed for educators. Inquiry-based activities designed for all content areas and grade levels explore the shifts to new standards,...

Not only do extracurricular activities look good on a college application, they can foster important life skills. From sports to volunteering to employment, extracurricular activities can inform your learners' experiences...

Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

Class groups bring feeling words alive by creating a poster that illustrates with images and colors, but not words, the feeling conjured by the word. The posters are then combined into a mural for the classroom wall.

The interactions between the Coureurs de bois (runners of the woods) and the First Nation Peoples as they engaged in the fur trade are the focus on this Canadian history exercise. Kids select learning centers based on their learning...

This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...

Bring some energy to your physical science curriculum with this engaging Bill Nye the Science Guy instructional activity. Based on his Renewable Energy video, students explore the concepts of potential and kinetic energy and learn how...

Your principal won't mind graffiti, as long as it's on a virtual wall. Scholars use the Scratch block-based computer language to write a program on graffiti. The program lets users place certain designs on a wall. 

One of the keys for successful teaching is connecting curriculum to real-life experiences. This lesson on blogging does this, by making writing, revising, and publishing a reality. Pupils create a character for a story, write about their...

Four lessons, each following the same routine, explore the careers of a teacher, nurse, electrician, geologist, plumber, and police officer. After listening to a read-aloud and thoughtful discussion, young scholars construct puppets...

Introduce readers to Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry with a lesson that sets the context for the novel. Class members research the bigotry in Mississippi during the Great Depression and identify examples in the story of how...