Learners read a report about the most dangerous cities in America. Using the internet, they research their own community in regards to how safe it is. They interview local law enforcement and determine the degree of local danger. They...

Play BINGO! Reinforce knowledge of word roots with an adaptation of this classic board game. The teacher draws a root word from a bag and learners fill in a square with a word that has the same root base. Instructions and Bingo cards are...

Fourth graders examine the influence of Texans in national politics. They interview adults about the importance of participating in civic affairs. Students create brochures with three true statements and one falsehood. They trade copies...

Students discuss two computerized options to change the current U.S. government. In this Constitutional Convention lesson, students write a statement advocating for one of the choices and participate in a mock modern Constitutional...

Emerging electricians build a simple ammeter for making measurements on an electric current. They test the placement of solar cells in both series and parallel circuits and examine the magnetic field produced by the movement of electrons...

Young scholars research the social context of Elizabethan England for Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They identify cultural influences on the play focusing on the theme of revenge and then analyze and compare film interpretations of the play.

Madison was there! Scholars go on a journey to discover the person behind the founding father label as they explore James Madison's role in the formation of the United States government. The culmination is a writing assignment and...

High schoolers assess samples of writing for each trait and discuss rationale for scoring. They comprehend that the traits of writing offer a common language for revision. Students are shown how to asses their writing and what makes...

Students write a literary response essay to Maya Angelou's novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literary response lesson, students complete pre-writing activities, discuss the rubric for the essay, and visit the given websites...

Students simulate the Constitutional Convention. They describe how the members of the Constitutional Convention might have felt as they gathered and began the arduous and memorable task of writing the United States Constitution .

Students recognize the writings of a prominent American writer. They analyze written text making connections to personal prior experience. Students discuss in small and large groups their findings. They organize ideas in writing using...

Practice converting a conventional number into scientific notation, and vice-versa. Using an applet, they perform the operations of multiplication and division on numbers expressed in scientific notation.

Travel through Europe with ten-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in this writing activity, which uses the picture book My Tour of Europe: by Teddy Roosevelt, by Ellen Jackson. After reading the book, readers compare it to passages from The...

In this euphemism instructional activity, students study about this writing convention. Students guess what 5 euphemisms mean, then complete some writing and evaluating questions about euphemisms.

A fun, modern twist on journaling! Instead of responding to prompts in their composition notebook, writers use the Internet to complete blog entries. A sample blog (with prompts) is shown here, and writers are assessed on conventions and...

Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.

Any lesson that includes time at the computer lab is a favorite for the kids! In this plan, the class heads to the lab to research Anne Frank and her life. Using both Internet and print resources (like the book), pupils compile...

Here is lesson plan 5 from a 7 lesson plan unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this lesson plan is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use material data to study the past....

This was written for ESOL learners, but could work for any elementary class. Learners read about the American dance style known as Square Dancing. They explore its use in literature, write a friendly letter about it, and then use their...

After defining and offering cogent examples of fragments and complex sentences, this instructional activity presents pupils with two passages. One they must revise. For the second, an excerpt from an E.B. White essay, they must identify...

Young scholars complete a study of Japanese culture through haiku. They read and interpret haiku poetry and write haiku of their own.

Have your ESL learners practice their written and oral English grammar skills, with this highly engaging ESL Lesson. Budding grammarians mingle across the room discovering what they each know about the Royal Wedding between Kate and...

Verbs are the most exciting words because they describe action. Kids can get excited about verbs too! Once they are provided with a solid description of what they are, how they are used, and what they look like in sentences, verbs will...

What's the story? Learners create the first of four storyboards about the invention of the television, incorporating narrative techniques and descriptive details. Next, they offer and receive feedback by participating in a peer critique...