Watching is not the same as seeing. Transform viewers from passive watchers to active students of film with this 34-page packet, filled with lessons and activities that use Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to examine the technology, the...

Create a graphic autobiography integrating images and text. Working within the structure of the programs Comic Life and Photoshop, pupils integrate the Principles of Design. They focus on balance, rhythm, proportion, and text structure....

Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...

As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...

W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...

Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable.  Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...

Students read a variety of electronic Aesop's fables to define fable and moral, and write and illustrate an original fable. They then publish their fable using PowerPoint.

“It was a dark and stormy night.” Thus begins the 1830's novel Paul Clifford and, of course, all of Snoopy’s novels! Encourage young writers to craft settings for their stories that go beyond Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s often-mocked phrase...

Students use latitude and longitude to map the path of the Battle of Gettysburg.

What is a graphic novel? How does it differ from a traditional novel? These questions launch a discussion of Fabio Celoni and Mirka Andolfo's graphic novel adaptation of The Kite Runner. Through a series of literature circle discussions,...

Students view a picture of Van Gogh's Sunflowers. In this caring and kindness activity students read Camille and the Sunflower and explore the feelings of the characters. Students complete worksheets related to Camille's feelings in the...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

Trace the links between a variety of math concepts in this far-reaching unit. Ideas that seem very different on the outset (like the distance formula and rigid transformations) come together in very natural and logical ways. This...

The distinction between Shiite and Sunni Muslims is an often misunderstood concept, yet very important for its implications in global affairs and for a more comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam.

Fourth graders read stories and pick one with characters they find interesting. Then students create a dialogue of writing a letter from one character to another. The letter must relate to the original story in some way that can easily...

Students read a short selection of a story individually or as a class. On their own, they create a story pyramid for the selection and write a one page summary. They use text from the story for their supporting details. To end the...

Students build their own neighborhood. In this lesson on community, students are introduced to books about families and neighborhoods. As a class, the students create their own neighborhood, elect a leader for their neighborhood and...

Students engage in scientifically oriented questions. They give priority to evidence, draw conclusions/formulate explanations and connect/evaluate explanations with scientific knowledge. Students communicate and justify proposed...

Young scholars engage their families to write down a folk story from their primary language. For this family literacy lesson, students rewrite the story or fairy tales in English. Parents and young scholars are invited to present the...

Tenth graders complete literature analysis activities using Guy de Maupassants "The Necklace" and the Grimm Brothers "Cinderella." For this literature analysis lesson, 10th graders discuss the life and career of Guy de Maupassant...

Fourth graders use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast various versions of the story The Three Little Pigs. They write a Cinquain, and then act out their version of the Three Little Pigs in a skit.

Students read maps for chronological information in Los Angeles. They develop a multicultural chronology of Los Angeles.