Have your middle schoolers participate in numerous activities designed to spark their awareness of literature. They express ideas and concerns clearly and respectfully in conversations and group discussions. Next, they view a music...

Studying ancient Greek culture, literature, and architecture is a great way to begin a unit on world cultures - or to start reading Antigone or other Greek dramas. Detailing the social aspects of ancient Greek life, this...

Prepare middle schoolers for life in the tech world with a lesson on entering, storing, sorting, and creating database collections. They use a database tool, such as excel, to record the contents of their CD collections. They then...

Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...

Young scholars define the term "exoticism" and identify musical elements used by 19th and 20th century composers and modern pop icons to convey exoticism.

Students study how the music of Dave Matthews Band is based on jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock and roll, and rap.

Third graders, in groups and individually, perform various musical pieces on their instruments. After demonstrating how to play steady beats, they also play counter melodies to songs such as "Peace Like a River." While some students...

In this Louisiana music worksheet, students learn that a found poem is made using words and phrases from some things they have read and, then write a found poem following the steps listed on the worksheet.

Learners research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their hero...

Appeal to your music lovers with this lesson. Middle and high schoolers listen to and describe music from contrasting styles. They identify the common elements between gospel and bluegrass music and have a class discussion regarding the...

Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...

Students gain an understanding of the role music plays during a crisis such as wartime. They discuss emotions associated with war and how music connects with these feelings.

Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...

Pupils will create short movies. The integration of technology into the curriculum is important for learners to apply in various ways. This lesson is an example of that kind of integration.

Students experiment with making a mural to music.

Students study rock and roll with the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Students recognize how chromatic scales create tension and pentatonic scales create relaxation as compositional techniques used to create tonality. Also, students aurally recognize the use of mixed or alternating meter as a means of...

Students listen to the music of Coldplay to explore the band.

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

Students create an understanding of contemporary artistic styles and genres through an overview of the connection of the arts throughout modern history. Students discussed visual, written and aural artistic mediums, as well as their...

Hoover flags? Hoover blankets? Hoovervilles? Drawing upon prior knowledge of the Great Depression class members respond to the prompts on an anticipation guide for Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis’s tale of Bud Caldwell’s quest to...

Begin this activity by asking third graders to bring from home pieces of cloth that represent something important to them. (Have extras for students who need them.) They reflect on important events in their lives, compose narrative...

Create an online poster, or Glogster, with your class to promote Ray Bradbury's novel Dandelion Wine. This activity can be done at any time in the novel, although the directions suggest waiting until your readers near the end so...

Here is a wonderful lesson designed for students with special needs. This well-thought-out lesson uses Big Books, familiar stories, and has a lot of review learning built into it. The book, The Keeping Quilt is used in the main part of...