Why is there more daylight in June than in December if you live above the equator? How does the angle of sunlight shift throughout the year? Answer these questions and more with an interactive article about the sun, its path through the...

Scholars get to know famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, as an artist as well as a person. After reading personal letters and analyzing paintings, participants paint two self-portraits that represent their personality. Then, write a...

An engaging lesson empowers individuals to make a difference in the community. Pupils work together to identify problems within the community and draft possible solutions. Scholars then take it to the next level by volunteering their...

Groups suspend objects within layers of liquids to determine the densities of different liquids and compare them to the densities of objects calculated in Part 1. The groups then carefully test their calculations by layering the...

Students research the characters of Hamlet.  In this Shakespearean literature activity, students complete a pre-reading activity designed to improve their familiarity with the characters in the story.  In small groups, students...

Students read and discuss The Diary of Anne Frank, a diary of a Jewish girl who hid from the Nazi's in Holland. The research the Holocaust and express their feelings in artwork.

Students practice techniques to help them be able to read faster, smoother and with expression. They read and reread a text in order to become more familiar with the words in the passage. Each student is given a copy of "Caps for Sale,"...

Second graders explore the life and accomplishments of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Through reading and discussion, they recall details from Sally Ride's life. 

Students read OGBO: Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifcoma Onyefulu. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Nigerian culture. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social...

How is Louisiana connected to the Holocaust? After reading The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders complete a research report about a survivor of the Holocaust who currently resides in Louisiana. Though the idea is a good way to...

students add their own scenarios to the book using the same rhythmic pattern. Students describe what is happening in the picture as a class shared writing activity. Students discuss reasons why the people in the kingdom were upset that...

Students examine the connection between the foods on the food pyramid and agricultural products. They identify the food groups, discuss foods from each group, complete two handouts, and construct a desktop food pyramid, placing foods in...

Clarify, connect, evaluate, predict, question. Laminate and display these colorful posers about the classroom to remind readers of the five basic strategies for comprehending all sorts of text. 

Here's a clever technology twist to writing in the round. Participants rotate through a series of computers adding to stories and editing by keystroke and mouse click. "Locked" forms prevent the loss of stories filled with suspense and...

Beginning readers and writers connect the dots from images to words while practicing printing. A second activity requires that they determine what letter(s) is missing from the same list of words.

Launch a study of Maya Angelou's "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings" with the Youtube video of Alicia Keys singing her "Caged Bird." Groups then read Angelou's poem and discuss the symbols employed. Although the text of the poem is not...

Keep your class thinking about Seedfolks after they read each chapter by requiring them to keep a journal about the story. Hand out these journal entry prompts at the beginning of the story so that your learners know what to expect. For...

Students draw names of dinosaurs out of a hat and write a report about the one they picked. Students write a riddle about their favorite prehistoric animal, post it on a bulletin board, and have other guess which animal it is about....

Tenth graders explore the concept of censorship through a reading of Fahrenheit 451. They discuss the issue and its relation to contemporary society. Students work in groups to debate the pros and cons of censorship in our society.

Students explore the role of workers and their jobs in the community. They write a friendly letter to a community worker expressing appreciation for the work they do and their importance to the community.

Have you used the directed reading thinking activity in your classroom? Doubling as either a prereading strategy, or a during reading strategy, it helps readers connect the historical background of the text to the text itself. As the...

Students make connections between music, the other arts, and other curricular areas. They compare characteristics of two or more arts within a particular historical period or style and cite examples from various cultures.

Students listen to a variety of books about immigration themes. They discuss immigration and some of the ideas presented in the books. They complete a variety of immigration-themed art projects.

High schoolers examine the various roles Washington Irving had in his lifetime. Examining the situation in Europe and the United States, they are encouraged to relate Irving's experiences to different events. They examine themselves in...