Students examine various methods of judging popular culture and compare them to the judging of the People's Design Award. In this popular culture and design lesson, students research different ways of voting in popular culture, beginning...

Have your class learn the essentials of public speaking. They compose a speech for their fifth grade celebration using iPods and presentation software. This would be a great end of the year activity for any grade level.

After reading and discussing several personal narratives written by women in the 1920's, class members write a personal narrative of their own about a time in their lives they felt controlled. Sample narratives can be accessed through...

Scholars use primary documents, video clips, and legal decisions to uncover Harriet Beecher Stowe's motives for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin. They create a 21st century book jacket for the novel to capture the purpose behind Stowe's...

In American democracy, majority rules but what prevents the voices of the few from being crushed? Using excerpts from Alexis de Tocqueville's writings, young historians explore cases where minority rights were trampled upon. Extension...

Students create Valentine's for soldiers in Iraq. They review how to write a friendly paragraph and discuss the military and duties of soldiers in Iraq. They create postcards and write reasons why they are rpoud of the military and how...

Pupils read the book The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups and write their own story based on a rule that grown-ups put upon kids. In this writing lesson plan, students focus on the trait of voice.

Third graders write about their feelings and thought for 10 minutes. They color an image that corresponds with their feeling and present their feeling poster. They write about their thoughts and daily feelings to help them reflect and...

Fourth graders write a poem after learning about the elements of poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, 4th graders use voice and expression to write their poems and revise their poems if needed.

Students view images of the Heart Mountain Internment Camp created by Estelle Ishigo. They discuss the time and place portrayed in the images and create a timeline recording events related to the internment of Japanese Americans.

Students observe a photograph of a cowboy and brainstorm things a cowboy would do. They reveiw text about Wyoming and locate facts and information about a cowboys life then create a friendly letter containg key components found in a...

Students summarize articles found in the newspaper and use key concepts to write a poem. In this reading comprehension and writing activity, students work with a partner to choose a current newspaper article. Key concepts and vocabulary...

Second graders study folktales and their characteristics. After brainstorming what they know about Africa, 2nd graders read a book about mosquitoes. In groups, students develop a graphic organizer about the characteristics of the...

Students analyze Mark Twain's "Western" voice. In this literature instructional activity, students read Roughing It by Twain and watch "The West." Students examine Twain's history and compare it to the history of America's developing...

Students explore songs that tell stories over various decades and create a Garage band track for their voice.  In this story song instructional activity, students create a video for their song group.  Students present a...

Students view and discuss photographs by Dorothea Lange. They describe what they see, pose questions about the images, reflect on their personal responses, and create diaries written in the voices of individuals depicted in the images.

Students explore new ways to communicate through technology by utilizing an internet program.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students utilize the website voicethread.com to share their thoughts and notes about reading...

Students watch NEW YORK VOICES special "New York Sports: Big Shots and Bad Guys," read excerpts from famous novels/essays in hopes of understanding the feelings that sports stadiums inspire, and create a tourist brochure that highlights...

Twelfth graders analyze "Dedication" and "Child of the Americas" using a double-journal format. They compare responses and infer meaning from the connotations of select images in the poems write a paragraph describing the importance of...

Students select a fictitious obstacle to overcome as an analysis of their own resiliency. In this resiliency lesson, students discuss the meaning of resiliency and watch a video about the concept. Students work in pairs to trace...

Student compile a poetry anthology. In this literature lesson plan, students examine notable poetry anthologies. Students then select a theme to build their anthologies of 10 poems pertaining to their chosen theme.

Students create podcasts of student-created review questions using iPod, iTalk, iTunes, GarageBand, and Keynote. This lesson is intended for as a mathematics review but could be adapted to fit any subject across many different levels.

Students find words that begin with the letters in their own names, using a variety of sources including word banks and online dictionaries. They create an acrostic poem. Pupils revise poems as needed, for meaning and conventions. ...

Students are able to write a speech and create a slogan through analysis of current issues articles dealing with pesticide use. They put themselves in the position of one of the workers affected by the story they read.