Even the most inspiring documents in American history had to go through a few drafts before they were ready for publication. Reinforce the importance of the writing process, as well as the collaborative nature of democracy, with an...

An open discussion starts this instructional activity off. The class takes a critical look at five works of art that demonstrate the impact and purpose of identity through collections or archives. They then write a list or draw 10-15...

Sor Juana, considered one of the first feminist writers and a great Latin American poet, is the topic and inspiration for this excellent lesson. Use the introduction, guiding questions, and learning objectives to lead your class into a...

Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...

From Canterbury Tales to The Odd Couple, this presentation details the different treatments of humor in different literary formats. Numerous authors and works of literature are represented here as examples of satire, irony, comedy, and...

Do students really need to be taught how to read cartoons, comic books, and comic strips? Yes. Just as they need to learn how to read other forms of graphic text such as diagrams, photos, timetables, maps, charts, and tables. Young...

Save the Lofty Trees, by Leslie Mills, provides the text for a study of the roles of animals and humans in the forest. Richly detailed, the plan offers two approaches to the play: as a scenario for children to imagine what actions would...

Here is a reading strategies lesson in which learners use post it notes to create a bulletin board. They post their new questions on the bulletin board and look back at questions they have already learned the answer to. A great idea,...

Here's an exercise that will help learners develop their vocabulary. The eight sentence completion problems are followed by an answer key that explains why one answer is correct and why the other possibilities are not. Richly detailed,...

Teaching a unit on the Holocaust? Consider using the personal statements of Dan Pagis’s poetry to contrast with the more “distanced” historical accounts found in textbooks. Five poems, discussion questions, and background notes are...

Definite (the) and indefinite articles (some/a/an) are the subject of a presentation that details the rules for how these parts of speech are used. It offers clear models and notes the exceptions to the rules as well. Viewers are sure to...

Blake, Wordsworth, Shelley, Coleridge, Byron, Keats. The Romantic Era and the ideas that accompany the movement are the focus of a PowerPoint that examines the lives and works of these British writers. Richly-detailed lecture notes...

Strike a note of hope or despair. Give a symbolic detail. Use a meaningful quotation. These strategies and others are part of a presentation on the purposes of and how to craft a conclusion. Sample conclusions are included for the class...

There would be no luck if it were not for bad luck. Scholars take a close look at the theme of adversity through multiple reads of Taggot, the Blacksmith’s Daughter. They place sticky notes on important details of the story and complete...

Pupils create believable self-portraits incorporating selected food items as details, forms, and texturesThe compositional focus is a head-and-shoulders portrait appropriate to the food theme resulting in a humorous illustration. Written...

Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. For this descriptive writing lesson, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an animal they...

Students gather information from a senior friend to write a biography. In this living history books lesson, students organize information to complete a book about their senior friend. Detailed teacher instructions for completing the book...

In this comprehension skills worksheet, students read the book Big Bushy Mustache and complete comprehension activities. Students complete 5 activities including note taking, making inferences, fiction and non fiction, drawing...

Plan ahead! Integrate science and language arts! Schedule your reading of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe to coincide with the arrival of spring. As pupils read Chapter 11 of the Lewis classic, they are assigned one of...

Third graders practice identifying the main idea and supporting details when reading informational text. They read text related to waterfalls and practice note taking skills to identify critical details. Students use their notes to...

Over three days, scholars listen to and read the poem, "Covers" by Nikki Giovanni. Learners complete a graphic organizer by sketching their visualizations from each stanza then discuss their pictures with a peer. Pupils answer...

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

Young community members explore philanthropic foundations. They discuss the work of community foundations, and then they listen to a guest speaker describe the vision and activities of a local foundation. Is there a way they can join the...

Informative writing is emphasized in the standards. Help your learners reach that goal with the plan for paragraph writing outlined here. After reviewing the work from the day before and adding to their vocabulary notebooks, class...