This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...

First graders discuss literary elements: characters, setting, problem and solution, after reading Three Cool Kids by Rebecca Emberley. The teacher records what students say using Inspiration, making a web that shows the different...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Using ichat or Edmodo 4th -6th graders participate in an inter-school literature circle. Young scholars from two different schools pair up online through ichat and use a blog to conduct a book circle. This lesson is wonderful; it fully...

Students use Moodle to participate in a chat session to complete a character analysis for a novel they've studied. In this novel analysis and technology lesson, students are assigned a character from a specific chapter and use Moodle to...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

Break an article down with a SOAPSTone chart. Class members determine the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone. The chart includes a question for each of these elements, provides some clarifying text for each, and...

Third graders practice identifying characters and story elements by creating a character cluster in class.  In this story analysis instructional activity, 3rd graders discuss the story Snow White and identify the characteristics of...

Students use technology to improve their knowledge of literary terms, math, and technology skills. In this technology storytelling lesson, students learn about character, plot, and setting in various stories by using technology like...

Develop novice script-writers. Small groups sift through a sample script, noting any script-writing conventions to share with the whole class. Using these conventions and plot structures, these groups compose a script for a 10-minute...

Learners analyze cowboy literature. In this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related websites....

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream," is one of the most famous in United States history, but why was it so effective? Ask your class to determine the answer to this question. While the resource includes a description of...

Students take a medical issue and explore it, debate it, and convince others of their point of view. They improve research skills and writing skills. Students are able to define a problem, debate it, and identify which is the best...

Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...

Use this general lesson guide to inform your instruction surrounding a documentary. The lesson is made up of five activities. The activities are intentionally general because they are designed to adapted for specific films. While the...

High schoolers discover the ideas of enlightenment by reading historical poetry. In this philosophical lesson, students read poems by Sir Walter Scott and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer while discussing the themes of the writing with classmates....

Students navigate Doodle Splash to create a painting.  In this doodle splash lesson, students explain their splash painting relationship to a piece of literature.

Students investigate Chinese culture by reading their folk tales.  In this creative writing lesson, students practice identifying the different elements in a folk tale and examine the related vocabulary.  Students organize...

Sixth graders explore the development of technology in the 20th century.  In this chapter lesson, 6th graders read and discuss the literary content of chapter four, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. They research the technology that was...

Second graders create a story and role-play the story using edible items to create a final story-video project. In this edible story lesson, 2nd graders write their own stories using literary format and elements. Students then create a...

What a wonderful way to follow up on the reading of, Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry! The instructional activity has pupils split up into small groups of two to four students. Each group must work collaboratively to create a multimedia...

Students discuss books they are reading during the semester through e-mail with other students. They complete a reading interest survey, e-mail their partner weekly, and read and suggest six novels by the end of the semester.

Middle schoolers explore characteristics of the myth genre.  In this myth lesson plan, students become familiar with various myths and the cultures they were derived from. Middle schoolers compare in a graphic...