Students study art based on the theme "The Pursuit of Meaning." In this art lesson, students research the role of a museum curator and create a proposal and exhibit catalog based on the theme "The Pursuit of Meaning."

Students explore their own responses to sound by hearing the music as a regular part of the class structure. They develop an awareness that certain art evokes certain sounds and moods and develop an intuitive responses to the music.

Students are introduced to the background behind Shakespeare's "As You Like It". In groups, they compare and contrast the family issues in the play with those in their own family. They also write the traits of each character and answer...

Students analyze the architecture of Louis I. Kahn. In this architecture analysis lesson, students analyze how a design is conceptualized and compare examples. Students complete image based discussion and two related projects.    

Carlos Fuentes’s The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait and Jaspre Bark’s Journal of Inventions: Leondardo da Vince serve as models for an assignment that asks class members to create a personal journal they will use...

Special educators know that it isn't all about the lesson plan, but rather the strategies and practices you choose to use. Here are a set of research-based practices and tips you can use to inform your choices when teaching learners who...

Learners create and publish a newspaper that reflects and explains pioneer and medieval societies. They become newspaper writers for a specific time period. They adopt a holistic approach to exploring community life in medieval and...

Exploring the baroque era can be exciting and fun when it's done thorugh the arts. Middle schoolers examine the music and art history of the baroque era through research. They use their findings and class notes to create an expository...

Discuss movies and movie enjoyment with your middle school language arts class. They interpret movie review information, determine appropriate movies, and then write film reviews to share with the class. Focus on using context clues to...

With the Common Core State Standards' growing focus on informational text, it's the perfect time to showcase this PowerPoint to your team of teachers. It's 59 slides focus on seven best practice structures: reading-as-thinking,...

After a teacher-led demonstration on the lives and music of Aaron Copland and Duke Ellington, learners write a letter to them which shows their understanding of how a person's life experiences can be reflected in a composer's music. They...

Seventh graders study events leading to, during and resulting from the American Revolution. They review elements of a political cartoon. They create and dramatize a scene from a Revolutionary War novel.

"The Crisis, No. 1" is the focus of a series of exercises that ask learners to read closely and annotate Thomas Paine's text. Groups identify claims and evidence in the essay and present their arguments to the class. Teacher background...

Art and architecture go hand-in-hand. Kids watch clips from the Hayo Miyazaki film Spirited Away to better understand Japanese customs and architecture. The discussion questions included are very good, and will help you lead the class in...

Explore the components of rhythm and form through a reading of Jean Marzollo's I Spy books. After discussing Marzollo’s format, the class agrees upon a theme for a class book and topics that fit with that theme. Pupils write a poem,...

After brainstorming, middle schoolers write an expository essay for a writing project. They focus on supporting points, organization, and writing conventions to develop a well-integrated paper. In addition, they revise, proofread and...

After hearing the Passion, Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection, through an account of the gospel writer St. Mark students will comprehend the saving story of our Christian faith. They comprehend their language skills by writing and...

Students explore the language of Shakespeare. In this literature lesson, students examine words invented by Shakespeare as they interpret their meanings in drawings. Students pantomime the meanings and then write a short story...

Robert Coles’ The Story of Ruby Bridges forms the basis of this powerful cross-curricular study of civic education and civic responsibility. Class members consider how the book presents authority, responsibility, justice, and privacy.....

Enhance the reading experience with a set of lessons designed to improve textual analysis. Seventh graders use guiding questions to read both informational text and literature closely in the first part of the unit. Next, they work on...

How do different communities celebrate special occasions? After researching celebrations in their countries, class members investigate other festivals like those associated with Ramadan, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Halloween, Easter,...

Students design, build, and test the specifications (water displacement and load line) for a model boat. The instructional activity focuses especially on integrating design principles with inquiry-based experimental skills.

The elements of music and journalistic integrity in one lesson; What could be better? The class discusses journalistic approaches to better understand responsible reporting versus sensationalism. They watch the Act One from the film...

To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This instructional activity...