Explore expressive reading through the read-aloud Summertime: From Porgy and Bess. Readers will make predictions about the text and listen to the song Summertime. They will also identify how the story relates to the song lyrics.

Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the...

Immerse your class in a good story with an extensive resource featuring reader's theater techniques. The worksheets are designed for both teacher and student, and carefully explain how to organize, write, and perform stories in a...

Fifth graders explore life during the Great Depression. In this  Great Depression lesson, 5th graders gain an understanding of what life was like during the Great Depression. Students draw conditions that families lived in and...

Yes, Virginia, there really is a reader's theater script for "The Night Before Christmas." The exercise is a great way to productively channel pre-holiday energy.

Students create a model of the land to water ratio in a large group and search for all the places water is used at their school while on a Great Water Hunt. They identify where water can be found and compare how much of world is covered...

Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

By engaging in an arts-based activity, 2nd graders explore peace in the classroom. They listen to the story The Rainbow Fish, then create their own fish to hang in the classroom. They write three things that make them happy on...

Students explore, analyze, study and read a variety of poems and listen to jazz that have their roots in the Harlem Renaissance. They then discuss the similarities and differences of themes in the works of different poets and composers.

High school orchestra is a great place to play music, like The Star Spangled Banner. Upper graders create new rhythms to the old song and perform them with the class. They rehearse their updated versions of the song using their...

This is a great way to build community in your school, experience process-based art, and explore the critical-thinking process. While quilting as a class collectively (just like a quilting bee) pupils listen to poetry and prose of a...

Engage and entertain young learners with this collection of readers theatre activities. With over 25 different scripts, a wide range of topics are covered from simple counting and rhyming exercises to adaptions of popular children's...

An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...

Bring writing to life with this lesson in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...

Blend art and family into one lesson with an activity involving oil pastels and watercolors. After viewing a few famous portraits of families, learners create masterpieces that represent their own families.

First graders read the book The Great Pet Sale to learn about economics and advertisements. In this economics lesson plan, 1st graders read the book The Great Pet Sale and define related vocabulary words. Students compare prices to find...

Students explore Chicago in the fur-trading era. In this Chicago lesson, students discover what life what like during this time. Students read an historical fiction story about life in the fur-trade era. Students view replicas of...

Students study bees. In this nature lesson, students practice a busy bee song, read poems about bees, and discuss the concept of beekeeping.

Students investigate modern transportation in the 19th century by examining artifacts.  In this U.S. history lesson, students read the story Joseph's Railroad Dreams, and discuss the Golden Spike used in the first transcontinental...

Learners read an except form, "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros, as a prompt for a family discussion about the history of their name. They use this discussion to express their personality by creating a Power Point slide...

Students listen to the poem Fall Colors and find their favorite Fall color.  For this Fall color lesson, students recognize the Fall color words.  Students make leaf prints with their favorite colors. Students talk about their...

Young scholars investigate the childhood of one of the greatest philosophers of our time, Gandhi.  In this biography lesson, students analyze the upbringing and events that finally shaped Mahatma Gandhi's life.  Young scholars...

Students investigate the sculptures of Alexander Calder. They view and analyze pictures of various types of sculptures, discuss how mobiles are a type of sculpture, listen to the book "Roarr: Calder's Circus," and create a class mobile...