I can't stress enough the importance of songs and rhyming chants to the development of early literacy skills. To reinforce color recognition, little ones sing, count, move, and create. All you have to do is choose which of these great...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...

If you've used any of the New Class Museum lessons exploring the theme, Unmonumental, then check this out! Included are three different final project ideas that tie into the other seven Unmonumental lessons. Kids create community through...

A brief passage about International Dance Day, April 29, is accompanied by an array of language activities based in sound ELD practice: cloze exercise, phrase matching, word jumble, multiple choice, sequencing, interview, group...

Singing is a great way to build memory, music, and verbal communication skills. Little ones sing the song, "Old Mac Donald had a Farm." They make the sounds of each animal on the farm paying attention to signaling cues, singing high, and...

Students create a presentation on Middle Eastern art. In this art history lesson, students will research Middle Eastern art, specifically focusing on the Alhambra Palace and Moorish-inspired tile design. They will use information...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

Explore language arts by reading two similar stories in order to compare and contrast them in class. Young readers read two Aunt Isabel books, by Kate Duke, and discuss the main characters, plot, and setting. They complete a graphic...

Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...

Children's Day is a beloved Japanese holiday with many colorful and engaging traditions. On this national holiday celebrated yearly on May 5, children are honored for their strengths and given good wishes for happiness. Your younger...

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

Students make a math book. In this early childhood math lesson plan, students develop language, observation, and math skills as they explore the sizes of objects and use cameras to take pictures for their own math booklet based on...

Students discover pictures are worth a thousand smiles. In this early childhood language arts lesson, students use their growing powers of observation and language skills to get to know their classmates.

Students work with big boxes to connect big ideas. In this early childhood problem solving lesson, students develop social, language, math, creative-thinking, and problem-solving skills as they work together to plan and design a...

Students look back on last year, so that they are able to plan ahead for a new year. In this early childhood language arts lesson, students use verbal and cognitive skills to discuss what they did the previous year and what their...

Three lessons make up a unit on the birth of Canada. Learners in the third grade will analyze famous works of art, research historical events, and discuss the role women played in the early development of Canada. Writing, history, and...

Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The activity is discussion-based and requires learners to compare and...

Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...

Students explore U.S. history by participating in a government activity. In this Constitution lesson, students identify the role government plays in our society and the differences the British colonies had in the early 18th century....

Students examine jazz's roots and their hybridization in New Orleans in the early 20th century. They listen to ragtime and jazz recordings, then complete worksheets imbedded in this plan.

An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...

Students investigate the uses of images, shapes and colors in classic art sculptures.  In this art analysis lesson, students observe Malagan Figures, a type of sculpture from New Guinea, and describe the different ideas and images...

Learners explore motor skills by participating in a drawing activity. In this hand coordination lesson, students utilize activity sheets in which they drag their pencil in a specific direction quickly and efficiently. Learners utilize...