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

A reading of Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County not only offers pupils an opportunity to practice their listening skills but also provides them with examples of dialectic speech. This is the gol’derndest lesson...

Create a commercial for a favorite book and broadcast this pitch on the Sly Book Channel! Learners practice retelling, summarizing, comparing/contrasting, and evaluation skills as they prepare their scripts. The approved scripts are then...

Eighth graders identify figurative language and poetry in this literary analysis lesson. Using Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and a YouTube video for "The Walrus and the Carpenter," young readers complete a literary device...

Learners listen to data on African American women in Texas before the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students compare and contrast the lives of slave and free women, and discuss case studies, locating areas on a map. Learners...

First graders examine compound words and what they look like.  In this compound word lesson plan, 1st graders read the book, My Baseball Book, and compile a list of compound words from their reading. 

Students identify the basic freedoms of citizens in the United States.  In this Bill of Rights lesson, students act out scenarios about the Bill of Rights.  Students create a picture book describing the rights they've acted out.

Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this lesson, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story, receive different...

After reading The Sign of the Beaver, learners utilize Kid Pix Studio Deluxe to draw a picture from one scene in the story. They also compose a description to accompany their scene. A minimum of two paragraphs must be written, using at...

"How might multiple perspectives of standardized testing impact me as a student?" is an example of an essential question that a researcher might use as a basis for this lesson on how to research and present a written stance on a...

What are your pupils' homes like? Incorporate their homes into a drawing activity. Using an enlarged photograph, class members draw a grid so they can easily split their drawing in half. The final product should demonstrate cool colors,...

Play with dimensions and practice making a two-dimensional scene look three-dimensional. Class members view pieces of art and then make their own scenes by layering different materials and drawing in details. Check out all the tabs for...

Build class community with an art project. Learners first examine and discuss works of art. They then contribute to a class mural by tracing their hands and decorating them in relation to their own cultures. The final mural...

Examine repeating and intricate patterns with a study of M.C. Escher and a related art activity. Pupils view and discuss the artwork before creating their own tessellating patterns. Step-by-step instructions for creating a template are...

Should junk food be banned in schools? Should the US open its borders to all immigrants? Should the US impose term limits for the House of Representatives and for the Senate? Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas...

At the beginning of this Halloween lesson, learners generate a list of spooky characters and words that they will use when creating their original stories. Teams of 3-4 members create the stories together. The lesson includes a handy...

Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy instructional activity. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This instructional activity includes several...

Students complete a 3-5 week unit related to the novel "Name Me Nobody." They participate in a literature circle, read and discuss stories provided by the Safe Schools Coalition, complete a Character/Problem-Solution chart, create a...

After analyzing both examples and non-examples of a variety of protests conducted by ethnic groups in Seattle and the state of Washington during the twentieth century, your class members will work to identify the key ideas and...

Young scholars explore different types of doors from an artistic point of view. In this creative thinking lesson, students look at different types of architectural doors and doorways and analyze them. They create a project of a door as a...

Students identify the elements of a story. For this reading and writing lesson, pupils read the book, Tyrone the Horrible by Hans Wihelm and then identify the characters, setting, and plot of the story.This lesson includes adaptations...

What is on your pupils' "Bucket Lists" - the list of things they want to do before they die? Their choices of activities for this list could be very revealing, and is a great source of inspiration for a personal poem. The lesson plan...

Review myths and the characters therein, connecting them to vocabulary words in the English language today. Begin by searching online for myths and character names. With at least ten names that are familiar English words, students use...