Groups become experts in one aspect of the six traits of writing, prepare a PowerPoint presentation, jigsaw, and teach others about their trait. Writers then focus on these traits as they compose a persuasive essay about a person they...

Reading aloud can be scary, but it's an important way to build oral fluency. Break the class into groups of four or five learners. Each learner will roll a cube to determine which poem they read aloud to their small group. Feel free to...

Young muralists use digital images they take of buildings, locations, landmarks, or places inside the school to create an original work of art. After locating sites of importance and researching to find information, members try to...

The Anasazi Indians of Mesa Verde are the focus of this art and social studies lesson. Working in pairs or groups of three, young scholars utilize computers and go online to search for websites about the Anasazi. Students will choose two...

Students experiment and explore a variety of instruments and movements. They play rhythms on instruments, spell words using their bodies, act out the movements of a song, role-play machine parts as a group, pantomime an activity, and...

Upper elementary and middles schoolers discuss and solve real world applications of math. They use formulas for volume and percents to answer real world questions. In the second part of the lesson, groups write and solve word problems....

Fifth graders demonstrate how to find their pulse and count the beats after a certain amount of time. In cooperative pairs, 5th graders use a stopwatch to keep track of their partner's heart rate in seconds. Pairs make a graph from their...

Math and religious studies are integrated together using using cuisenaire rods and Kid Pix for this problem-solving exercise. In pairs, they match different colored rods to represent various groups of people. Meanwhile, students at...

Students discuss ways to get involved in activities at school. In groups, they brainstorm a list of qualities of a person who is engaged in civics and how they can become involved in activities at school related to government. They...

Students investigate plants and the effects beetles have on the plants. In small groups, they collect plants and observe the beetles as they interact with the plants. They record the conditions including temperature, cloudiness, length...

Use the medicine ball to help young learners develop strength in the core muscle groups. The Russian twists develop oblique strength, push-ups develop triceps strength, sit-ups work on abdominal strength, and squats develop quadriceps...

Students, in groups, use longitude and latitude to locate various places on a map.

What is the difference between area and volume? Have your charges build models of square centimeters, square inches, square feet, square meters, etc. It's definitely challenging, but there is no better way to learn than by trying...

Most middle schoolers probably feel that quilting is at best an activity left to their grandmothers. This lesson plan uses the Zome modeling system to get them to realize how shapes in quilting are really tessellations and repeating...

A class of older and academically mature students are divided into pairs, usually one male and one female and are told that they are expecting a child. Unfortunately, their child may or may not have inherited some form of genetic...

Examine measurable characteristics of objects to build an understanding of the different ways you can discuss an object's size when comparing it to other objects. After whole group instruction, the class compares and organizes several...

While this resource is actually attempting to sell a product, the foundational ideas may be worth looking into. Using Braidy the StoryBraid doll, learners will gain a better understanding of beginning, middle, and end, as well as story...

Enhance a reading of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this collection of learning activities. Starting with general background information about the book and author,...

Students read and analyze the Eastern European folktale of 'Ivan the Fool.' They discuss the term 'quest,' identify quests in their own lives, and in small groups design a board game that illustrates the czar's quest to find good wives...

History comes alive as groups work cooperatively to create short iMovies about a specific historical period of their choice. Ideal for late elementary grades, the instructional activity includes a video demonstration and a short...

Elementary schoolers engage in a literature study. They make comparisons of two different versions of a story using a graphic organizer. Using the text and pictures elementary schoolers investigate three elements from the story. Then,...

Students examine how angry words can effect the people and environment around them and identify ways to cope with angry feelings. They listen to the book Andrew's Angry Words by Dorothea Lachner, and participate in a simulation of how...

Here is another great way to introduce order of operations using "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally." Pre-determined small groups work cooperatively to solve expressions. Afterward, they write a journal entry to explain the steps they...

A terrific lesson focused on the design process. It begins with a presentation, "Design: Solve a Problem," which lists the steps of the process and then introduces the specific challenge: to build a device that measures wind speed....