Kids engage in a series of activities that ask them to consider differences and similarities in characteristics, both visible and invisible. With this new understanding, the class investigates the Special Olympics program and develops...

Students compare two paintings, depicting urban life in America in the 1940's, answering a series of questions, then create a short story about the paintings' characters. They compare 'Nighthawks' and 'Nightlife.'

What do spiders' legs and an octopus's eyeball have to do with metaphors? The fourth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl uses disgusting foods to teach about metaphoric writing.

Teaching young learners about similes is easy as pie with this primary grade language arts lesson. Following a class reading of the children's book, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, young readers learn the definition of a simile...

Activate various learning styles while covering modifiers and double negatives. These activity ideas provides several sentences for examining each topic. After completing the activities, learners will know how to clarify meaning with...

The Iron Horse encroached upon the land while conflicts escalated between Native Americans and the settlers. Sophomores study the print, American Progress then discuss how American progress affected Native Americans. They will study the...

Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...

If you're reading the story "Merry Christmas, Geraldine" by Holly Keller, this is a fantastic cross-curricular resource to use. Complete with activities for language arts, science, social studies, art, and math, you'll get the most out...

Monsters take center stage! Elementary schoolers are assigned to write a descriptive paragraph by a toy company to help in designing a new monster for their toy line. One student composes the paragraph, another uses that to create a...

Students write a biographical poem about themselves. They observe a teacher-led demonstration, write an autobiographical poem and a biographical poem about a famous person using a template form, and display the poems side-by-side.

Examine and distinguish between words that have similar definitions but different connotations. Middle schoolers define connotation and denotation and participate in a "shades of meaning" contest in small groups. Groups use the...

Read The Napping House and describe the visual characteristics of the illustrations.  In this perspective lesson, learners identify color elements.  They recognize that the text is repetitive and find patterns in the...

Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...

Useful in an Of Mice and Men unit, or in a unit that focuses on descriptive writing, this lesson prompts young authors to impersonate John Steinbeck's writing style in the opening passages of the novel. A Six Trait writing activity...

Work a few of these activities into your unit on jobs and professions for beginning French speakers. This teacher's guide focuses on feminine and masculine word endings, and introduces the teacher to different opportunities for oral...

Making observations and collecting qualitative and quantitative data is a vital skill all scientists need to practice. Help your scientists with partial and no sight learn how to use their other senses to make observations for...

Combine vocabulary development and a study of verb tenses with a general introduction to sports. Class members get acquainted with the language associated with sports, and then complete a project to design and describe their own...

It's no masquerade! If Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera is part of your curriculum, check out this three-page packet loaded with suggestions for before, during, and after reading activities.

Everyone can be a poet with this simple activity! After reading of Lucy Westerna's death, assign your class this bio poem on Professor Van Helsing. There's a specific format to follow, but it'll be interesting to see how your kids add...

Lisa Trumbauer's big book, Spinning a Web, provides kids with an opportunity to practice word sequencing, to use correct punctuation, and to develop comprehension skills with a cloze reading evercise.

In this parallel structure learning exercise, learners read about parallel structure within sentences and between sentences, then complete a practice sheet of exercising, rewriting sentences. An answer key is given.

Students complete acting exercises as a part of a precise language activity to help them build vocabulary and improve their descriptive writing skills. In this theatre and writing lesson, students create and act out a sentence with two...

Which water creature is the biggest? Youngsters look at an image of a big shell, then draw a bigger shell next to it. They do the same for a big fish. Next, learners practice with the superlative as they circle the biggest duck and frog....

After reading a story or informational text describing an animal, your class gets creative and collaborative with paint. In groups, they brainstorm all the parts of an animal, they then take turns painting those parts. One child starts...