Students examine the use of symbolism in literature. In this literary elements lesson, students discuss the attributes of symbolism. Students then read selected Cinderella stories and "The Fall of the House of Usher," and identify the...

Characters from a story can be sorted by their traits, just like shapes or objects can. First the children list several character traits on a chart, they read a familiar story, and then sort the characters by their friendly or unfriendly...

Demonstrate how to track the elements of plot in a story. After watching you mark down the rising action, problem, climax, falling action, and resolution for Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth, pupils complete a graphic organizer for Sweet...

Students observe child safety by viewing an educational video regarding the Internet. In this digital privacy lesson, students view a short film based on a young person who falls victim to bad decisions on the Internet. Students complete...

Third graders demonstrate their understanding of crescendo. They achieve dramatic effect in singing the Halloween Song. They sing this song with a gradual crescendo from beginning to end.

First graders discover the two color families and how artists use the colors to express mood or feeling. Students paint pictures using water colors of an apple tree and include background, middle ground, and foreground in their scene.

Students create a rainstick from recycled materials and begin learning about the "nature" of the rainforest.

Examine the way water moves, drips, and splashes with an expressive dance. Learners discuss the ways in which water moves, then create dance sequences that show or describe water. There are several suggestions to adapt this lesson plan...

Use this resource's pairings of classical literature and paintings to practice the skill of comparing different artistic mediums with your ELA class. Addressing standard 7 for literature in the Common Core, the resource encourages your...

Use a traffic light to model a very basic paragraph plan. The Go, or topic sentence, is written in green and expresses an opinion about the topic. Information that supports the opinion of the Go sentence is written in yellow and the...

Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

High schoolers complete literature analysis activities for Beowulf. They read lines from the poem and complete character analysis activities. In addition, they write and share a boast modeled on the text and then create heroes and...

This phonemic awareness activity would be great for morning meeting or circle time. Teacher calls out a word, s/he identifies the final phoneme. The class then take turns saying other simple or cvc words that also have the same ending...

How do you assess what your pupils have learned over the course of the year? Find out how competent they are at reading and analyzing age-level literature with the ideas presented here. Included in this resource are two suggested...

After reading a Native American legend about dreamcatchers, why not make some. This resource provides several good links that explain the legend of the dreamcatcher and step-by-step instructions for making them with the class. Tip: If...

What is the artist's role in the post 9/11 world? How do artists use imagery to convey meaning in their work? After examining the work of Mughal artist Imran Qureshi, class members create their own work that uses combative imagery to...

Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...

The string section of your school orchestra can get a proper form make-over by incorporating this activity. They reestablish proper playing form, posture, and sound as they compose an essay on how to maintain good playing habits during...

Fifth graders collaborate with another fifth grade classroom while learning about various locations in the United States. This is a telecollaborative video conferencing project that is designed for students studying United States history...

After searching Google for YouTube videos, pupils will create a Google Search Story. The process of creating these stories will provide practice using narrative elements such as, plot, characters, setting, and conflict. Note: Resource...

Explore Japanese society and national identity. Class members share ideas about the Japanese economy and then investigate a series of resources, including an article, a film, a lecture, and a poem, to learn about Japan's Bubble Economy...

Designed for third graders but appropriate for older learners as well, this packet of materials underscores the necessity of teaching kids how to summarize, how to identify main ideas and supporting details, and how to ask questions...

Chris Van Allsburg's Two Bad Ants provides third graders with an opportunity to examine point of view and how the point of view of others may differ from their own.

The Hunger Games. Maximum Ride. Why is so much of young adult literature so dark? What is the appeal of dystopian literature to young readers? The six activities in this resource ask kids to reflect on some of the reasons this genre has...