Students create their own family crest using prior knowledge and Japanese and Native American examples of symbolic art. Lesson extensions include the creation of a school crest or woodblock examples of crests.

Students study the Arctic North. In this Canada history lesson plan, small groups of students research and then teach the class about either the plants, animals, humans, or geography in relation to the Arctic North. Students make their...

Students examine knightly virtues and will measure Gawain's strength in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this poetry analysis lesson, students identify the bob-and-wheel poetic form and analyze symmetry in the poem. Students...

Sixth graders identify how geography and climate determine the lives of early hominids, the characteristics of hunter-gatherer societies, how animals affected the lives of early hominids, and how hominids overcame their physical...

Fifth graders examine how motifs, symbols, and ideas influence various pieces of visual art. They compare and contrast the work of Walter Anderson to pre-historic cave paintings and create a glue line print using motifs and symbols found...

Students study the Chinese Zodiac and use this subject matter as influence in creating Yixing teapots from clay,

Students create textural animal sculptures. They explore how to accent their pices to make it look metallic.

Cell phones are likely made of gold—at least part of them! An interesting lesson explains the conventional and not-so-conventional uses of the popular element gold. From the Inca empire to modern-day technology, learners discover gold...

Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...

Young historians take a look at how the Indian tribes of California promoted a mindful relationship between people and the land. They begin to understand how the Indians were champions of conservation, and at preserving the natural...

Students investigate early African civilizations. They create Kufi hats, musical instruments, pottery and African masks, sing songs, play African studenT games, and participate in a feast and tour of a museum where their artwork is...

Students list three things about caves that interest them and list reasons why writers choose caves as settings for stories.

Students read Dancing With the Indians by Angela Shelf Medearis. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Native American festivals and traditions. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing,...

Learners examine limestone cave geology and hydology. They study cave vocabulary.

Students create a three dimensional animal sculpture. In this sculpting lesson, students use white art clay, gloss glaze, brushes, and wooden tools to create an animal sculpture.

Students compare the Native American version of Cinderella to the more popular version they know. They compare legends with fairy tales and explore character traits and discuss the meaning of good character. They write a fairy tale of...

Students examine the effects of the loss of the bison after the Europeans arrived in North America. They conduct a demonstration using beans to demonstrate the difference between the number of bison before and after the arrival of the...

Students study the changes in travel methods over time.

Students identify the words plain and climate and discuss what would happen if it never rained. Students identify and interpret the weather in Poland and create a web illustrating various weather patterns. Students write a 4-line poem...

Students observe models of two kinds of forests with low and high biodiversity. They observe and record the effects of habitat destruction or extinction rates. They also conduct research about mass extinction like that of the ancient...

Students create an animal from Sculptamold and metal mesh. In this hands-on arts lesson, students use the materials provided the create a piece of art in the form of an animal. This lesson includes easy step-by-step directions.

In this trans Saharan trade route instructional activity, students respond to 6 short answer questions about African trade routes after they read the included article.

Students investigate the use of the Phoenix in Japanese and Chinese art while making connections to the use of the Phoenix in the book Fahrenheit 451. This lesson can be adapted for grades 8 through 11 but was originally for 8th grade...

Learners view an image of a Chinese chimera and complete a chart describing what they see and understand about the creature. They compare funerary customs today to those of ancient China. They compile a list of items that might be...