Combine math, language arts, music, and dance with an activity focused on "America" from West Side Story. After listening to the song, learners compare the film to Romeo and Juliet, analyze the song's meter, design choreography, plan...

Six tasks make up a lesson plan designed to reinforce comprehension and language skills using the poem "The Pied Piper" by Robert Browing. Scholars discuss and define unknown words, identify adjectives and onomatopoeia, review...

Even the kindest friends can become selfish and tyrannical in Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen." Class members complete story-themed exercises in language arts, social studies, and even physical science.

Old, ild, ind, and ost may sound like a foreign language, but they actually represent common final consonant blends. Help learners recognize and pronounce consonant blends with step-by-step instructions, including scripted conversations....

Literature circles give learners a chance to explore a novel in a unique way. An educator's guide for the book Savvy uses literature circles as part of the novel study. Additional activities cover elements of figurative language and...

English language arts and science combine in a instructional activity that focuses on asking and answering questions about frog skin. Discussion, a read-aloud, and partner work lead the way towards a three-page worksheet that tests...

Writers learn about using sensory details as they revise bland sentences with more vivid language. Next, they begin writing the first drafts of their children's books, completing storyboards to effectively plan their writing. 

A silent reading session permits class members to meet individually with their teacher to discuss their text. Learners then discuss and express their observations about two poetry quotes, recording thoughts about craftsmanship, forms of...

Learners listen as a teacher models how to read a poem using The Negro Speaks of Rivers. They use the How to Read a Poem anchor chart to help guide their thought process on how a poem requires different reading than other text. While...

Perspective is everything. Using a graphic organizer, pupils determine Laurence Yep's perspective of the police in his novel Dragonwings. Additionally, scholars complete anchor charts to identify connotative language in the text.

Students in a Spanish foreign language class are giving topics to develop a skit to preform in front of the class. As a class, they are introduced to new vocabulary and the concept of paraphrasing. After performing their skit, they...

What do the words alligator, armadillo, and cockroach all have in common? Each one is an English word with Spanish origins. Introduce young etymologists to the joys of discovering word origins with a lesson that asks them to create a...

Ninth graders describe how characteristics of Deaf culture relate to ASL. They identify ways in which sign languages from other countries and ASL have influenced one another. Then invite a member of the Deaf community to speak to the...

Learn more about the work of Gwendolyn Brooks with a language arts lesson. Young learners read an informational passage about the acclaimed poet before attempting a shape poem of their own.

Students listen to an African folktale about an animal character that can walk and talk and retell the main events of the story in their own words. They illustrate the folktale utilizing a relief printmaking method as a replica of an...

Conquer those pesky moments when the Turkish language appears in class. Don’t be afraid to discover a few new Turkish morphemes, and their corresponding English words in this quick lesson.  Who knows where this knowledge can go?...

How can you tell if a prompt is expository or narrative? Help your learners identify key words in writing prompts to determine how they should craft their essays.

Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

A comprehensive and immersive series of lessons that examines various aspects of story development leads learners into writing a narrative of their own. Writers develop an understanding of the writing process as they use the learning...

The Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva is a piece that represents characteristics, meanings, and ideals common to those who practice Buddhism in Japan. Learners fully analyze this piece, then take a virtual trip to examine the Buddhist...

Encourage your class to consider a beautiful short film about a boy named Theo who happens to be visually impaired. Over the course of the lesson, pupils work in pairs, discuss their ideas and the film as a class, view the film,...

Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy lesson focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then discusses how...

Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...