Students explore animal habitats.  In this cross curriculum animal survival and writing lesson plan, students view a website about wild horses on Shackelford Island and discuss ways in which the horses have changed to this...

Fifth grade reader/writers create an alternate ending to an episode in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach in which our protagonist "loses" the chance to magically solve all his problems. Prompts students not only to write creatively...

A strong essay eliminates weak or unnecessary material. Determining what information contributes to an essay and what information should be deleted is a skill readers and writers of informational text must develop. Class members practice...

What are characteristics of a planet? With this plan, learners investigate the characteristics of the planets in our solar system. They gather research of the nine planets by using the Internet and other research tools. Then they create...

After a peer review of their outlines, class members examine a model of an effective, engaging introduction and then craft the first draft of the introduction to their research paper.

The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...

Who causes sinkholes? Or acid rain? High schoolers try their hand at myth-making as individuals create a god or goddess responsible for the modern-day phenomenon. They introduce their deity in an essay that reveals the name, parentage,...

Students explore journalism. In this expository writing lesson, students read several newspaper articles and note common features. After reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett, students work with a partner to write a news...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson plan students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken...

Fourth graders focus on fluency by reading the book Charlotte's Web. In this reading strategies lesson plan, 4th graders partner read, do guided reading, and independent reading to increase fluency. Students use Venn Diagrams,...

Second graders read about immigration from their text. They select one culture and identify characteristics of the group. Students complete a graphic organizer (included with the instructional activity). They recall and list various...

Students edit an existing piece of writing focusing of improving word choice. They create lists of words that can be used in place of the main topic and rewrite the piece using the new vocabulary.

Students recreate and simulate the secession of the South during the Civil War by having their class secede from the school. They write an essay comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of everyday life before and after...

Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...

Students use a "spider web" graphic organizer to record information about different types of masks they are familiar with. They write a paragraph about masks. Students read about Native American cultures and compare/contrast the...

Third graders design a machine for clear-cutting an area of forest.  In this agricultural technology instructional activity, 3rd graders are read selections from American Tall Tales by Mary Pope Osbourn, discuss how trees are...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently they...

Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...

Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is...

Fifth graders enjoy learning more about animals and their habitats as they explore the Internet sites in these Student Activities based on the main characters in Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH.

Students practice various comprehension strategies to generate the main idea of the text. They encounter unfamiliar concepts and new vocabulary in their quest of the main idea in "Watson's Goes to Burmingham." The Five W's (What, Where,...