George Bailey learns that it truly is a wonderful life when he discovered how many lives he has touched—not to mention how many new generations of lives the story touches every year. A study guide on It's a Wonderful Life ...

Students watch Charlie Chaplin films and discuss film elements. They select a story written by Edgar Allen Poe to write and produce a movie of. They film scenes, edit, and create a final iMovie project.

The roots metro/meter and therm are the focus of a vocabulary building presentation that includes concise definitions, color-coded examples, and opportunities for guided and independent practice. Part of a series of roots and affixes...

By digitally organizing research, your class leaves a legacy for future students on the life and times of Mark Twain. Before reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, scholars conduct group research projects on one of six (listed)...

Students analyze, discuss and compare sources of inspiration, use of words and imagery, and other differences in writing styles between two featured songwriters. This is an introductory instructional activity to a creative project unit.

Learners explore choreographic narrative. In this choreography lesson, students explore the elements of Appalachian Spring as they develop a series of written responses to assignments that challenge them to investigate the structure of...

Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...

That tricky Anansi! Join him and Turtle in the story Anansi and Turtle Go to Dinner by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk, based on the African folktale. Kids answer comprehension questions and sing songs about spiders before creating spider...

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

Was Napoleon a tyrant or a hero? Answers could vary depending on the political point of view. Learners listen to Beethoven's Symphony #3 while considering Napoleon's undemocratic tyranny. They listen to the piece in five parts, each time...

Good Night, Moon is a classic little ones absolutely love. It's a sweet book that can be used, as in this instructional activity, to start a conversation about the difference between night and day. After reading the story, the class...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass serves as the anchor text for a instructional activity on symbolism. Readers use the provided worksheets to examine the symbols in the novel as well as in the world around them.

Students participate in a number of activities in order to study the history of photography and to examine the workings of a pinhole camera.

What is a ‘Zine? Although the referenced PBS video that launches this study of self-published magazines is not available, the activities detailed and the step-by-step directions for creating ‘Zines would engage young writers. This...

The phonemic awareness activities in this packet are designed to help kids develop skills in rhyming, syllabication, blending onsets and rimes, and beginning and ending sounds. Well worth a place in your curriculum library.

Fire safety is a hot topic for kids! With this resource, little ones will read, color, draw, and play as they are learning about prevention and, as an added bonus, practice naming shapes, counting, and adding numbers! Reading, math, and...

Students use the music of Bruce Springsteen to learn literature techniques.

Students listen to, analyze, and describe music. They explain relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

Students examine how art and music help to define and unify a social movement and also how they can function as symbols of protest. They watch KQED program And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking and discuss what happens when...

Students explore the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. They read and analyze poems by Allen Ginsberg, conduct Internet research, collect examples of art of the 60s, and create a presentation.

Students analyze various kinds of music.  In this music lesson, students listen to music clips to determine the kind of music each clip is then they participate in a class discussion about the music and prepare a presentation.

Sixth graders investigate the ideas, literature, music, and art of the Romantic Movement. They apply romantic ideals to their original writing and art, analyze poetry, discuss key vocabulary, and analyze artwork from this era.

Learners trace James Brown's rise from "Little Junior" in Depression-era Augusta, Georgia, to the "Minister of the New Super Heavy Funk" and create a collage that captures his impact on American music.

Students practice their reading comprehension while listening to a classic folktale from India.  For this cultural storytelling lesson, students read the book The Cleverest Thief and complete word identification worksheets based on...