As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson plan...

Learners describe the sensory elements of musical selections (i.e., tempos, dynamics, and articulations). They write an essay evaluating Saint-Saens' effectiveness in using sensory elements in both selections. They describe the...

Eighth graders draw the structure of an atom. They construct atomic models, list parts/locations of an atom, organize parts of the periodic table and write a descriptive report about an element.

Fourth graders read a selection describing 13 virtues from "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." They keep track of their behavior and whether or not they can keep up with 5 chosen virtues. They write a 5 paragraph essay on their...

Students examine the history of mandalas from Tibet. After reviewing the Designing a Mandala handout, they use geometric symmetrical shapes to create their own examples. Next, they write poems or essays and explain the meaning of the...

Students define the concept of the global community. They analyze characteristics of global communities using Stark's three categories: communication, economy, and culture/community. They write a five-paragraph essay which includes an...

High schoolers conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...

Students create a writing selection with a well-developed plot. They use a personal photograph in which they are visible to base their autobiographical writing. They write a description of the events surrounding the photograph in the...

Students take a walk around the schoolyard looking at and identifying the trees. One leaf for each tree is collected. A chart is developed that represents the population of trees on the school ground. They keep journals and write an essay.

Fifth graders collect data about regions of the United States using the Internet, library books, and encyclopedias. They write an essay persuading people to visit their state.

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

How can an unfamiliar place help you learn something about yourself? Use a narrative writing prompt as you culminate your unit on Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic. Kids consider the ways that, like the main character from the...

Students write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...

Fourth graders engage in a instructional activity which teaches the parts of an expository essay and how to organize and write an expository piece from a given topic. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this...

Seventh graders practice their writing skills by identifying their goals for the semester. They write an essay of four paragraphs and then combine all the information into one. As a class, they create a contract for each of them to use...

Pupils create a descriptive paragraph about their past or their heritage and provide a picture to go along with it. In this past and heritage lesson plan, students share their paragraph with the class.

Students research the theory of evolution and the controversy.  In this evolution lesson students view a film on Charles Darwin then they write an essay about whether or not intelligent design should be taught in science class. 

Pupils research the scientific, economic, and cultural themes that connect Paleolithic and Neolithic inhabitants. They complete Paleolithic and Neolithic Theme Frames, comparing/contrasting the two cultures in an essay or Venn diagram.

Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...

Young scholars research a specific person from American history who played a significant role and had an impact on future events and situations. They write a multi paragraph essay which includes three reasons explaining why they would...

Students write an essay comparing The Hobbit to The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. In this The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring lesson, students compare the plot, theme, writing styles, and other elements in the two books.

Learners decide what type of weather they would like to write about such as tornadoes, hurricanes, snow, hail, floods, or another type of weather. Then, they look up the information and jot down notes about that particular subject....

Fifth graders write a narrative essay describing what happened in the classroom after a nystery person has visited.

Remind young historians that many technological advancements influenced the events of World War I. After analyzing technology's evolution through primary sources, discussing the changes over time, and watching various video clips,...