Art and literature can go hand in hand, they both are used to express elements of the self in a creative and interesting way. Budding story tellers interpret and analyze the narrative elements they find in a work of art. They focus on...

Learners make three dimensional shapes with nets. In this nets lesson, students receive nets which they fold to make a three dimensional object. They predict what shape each net will make and verify it after making the net. They use the...

Students discover how setting, props, and character-action communicate information about the characters and the story. Access to videos and a video camera are important to make this lesson a success.

Learners create a word tree poster that illustrates the way a root word can serve as the basis for many related terms. Although designed for a Latin language class, the concepts here could be used with any class study of Latin or Greek...

Students create their own telenovelas. In this telenovela lesson, students use the graphic organizer to work in groups and create a telenovela based on the mysterious letter.

There are so many great reading strategies. In this lesson, learners practice decoding. They break down two paragraphs to analyze and determine main ideas and details. They each observes ways to model as they map their paragraphs.

Eighth graders research and write reports on key figures of the Antebellum Period. The projects also include pictures, bibliographies, and timelines about their assigned figure. In addition, 8th graders present oral reports to classmates.

Students examine famous African-Americans. In this African-Americans lesson, students research and give an oral report on a famous African-American.

Students explore the words of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students analyze segments of "The Gettysburg Address," his annual address to Congress in 1862, and his letter to Mrs. Bixby. Students conduct further research...

Encourage respect, responsibility, and caring within your classroom with a collection of lessons that spark dialogue and self reflection. To address character traits, lessons touch on topics such as staying safe in the...

Eleventh graders gain understanding of how words in the English language are formed. They assess their own work for sentence clarity and variety of expression. They increase their comprehension and recall.

First and second graders become familiar with the components of a biography. In this language arts lesson, pupils create an "All About Me" page using components of a biography. They also create an interractive poster, and work with a...

Students create their own "talking sticks" that reflect personas they have invented in this Art lesson plan designed to introduce the Yoruba peoples from Nigeria. Emphasis is placed on personal reflection after completing the "sticks".

Participate in an emerging literacy lesson that focuses on the skill of phonemic awareness! The phoneme of choice is the letter "o". They need to use letter recognition in conjunction with the sound.

Students categorize different words that contain a hard c and a soft c. In this hard and soft c lesson plan, students also pick words from each of the categories and write a story with those words.

In this language arts lesson, 8th graders verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not directly stated. After a class discussion on how to use context clues, students pairs are given a worksheet of "mystery...

Describe yourself or a character from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a biopoem activity. Using the provided format, kids write their own characteristics or the character traits from the novel to create a poetic portrait.

Read and analyze poems by African-American authors. Using the text, they identify the various patterns, subjects, language and dialects used. Then team up to compare and contrast the various authors and define new vocabulary. The lesson...

Do your middle school scholars need practice decoding words while reading or for spelling? The root word pan is the focus of a nine-step instructional activity that asks learners to discover ways to figure out the meaning of words built...

Middle and high schoolers work in groups to research tales of King Arthur, using primary sources. They present the major themes and symbols from these stories, and discuss how they still relevant in today's world. Use this lesson to...

Take your young word detectives on a hunt for the /i/ sound. Use the tongue twister about Iggy the penguin to help learners identify the target sound. Then learners are given several words, and they have to use their detective skills to...

Students investigate the process of making a newspaper using children's literature to create context for the instructional activity. The readers are asked to predict the events of the story as it is read to them. Then the teacher uses...

If you want some help with teaching themes and symbols in Animal Farm, this may be beneficial. After a class discussion about possible themes, class members write a paragraph explaining which they believe is the most important. Next,...

Practice public speaking in this oral presentation lesson. Middle schoolers list the characteristics of a powerful speaker. They watch a video of two speakers, compare them and discuss the qualities of a good speech. Afterwards, they...