If you are considering adding or expanding a unit on utopian and dystopian literature you simply must check out this fabulous resource. Packed with plans, activities, project-based and 21st century learning opportunities, the unit...

Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small...

Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a lesson that prompts them to...

Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...

Here is a great way to explore language arts by completing a computer activity with classmates. Youngsters read a fairy tale in class and analyze where the beginning, middle and end are. They create their own story using clip art and...

This instructional activity, which promises to improve the essays of your middle schoolers, contains a list of characteristics an essay should include. It breaks it down into the introduction, thesis statement, body, etc. There's also a...

Middle schoolers research a variety of controversial articles to gain knowledge. They form an opinion and defend their position with supporting data. They evaluate opposing arguments and present their viewpoint both verbally and in the...

Students discuss, analyze, and interpret "Portrait of a Dutch Family" by Fans Hals and then create subject specific projects for assessment. This cross-curricular lesson is well-suited for Language Arts or Visual Arts classrooms and...

Students practice artistic weaving. In this Colonial arts lesson, students weave pieces using lint from their home dryers. Students replicate the weaving process early Americans used. Students are also challenged to weave using the extra...

Students discover how to use a thesaurus. In this language arts lesson plan, students explore thesauruses as they look up words and write sentences for the new words they encounter.

Students work cooperatively to choose a theme, write a story, and produce a web site to display this story in this middle-level lesson on the career of a web designer. This excellent lesson ends with an organized, web site launch party.

Middle schoolers use a graphic organizer to brainstorm information about their lives. They utilize brainstorming techniques in a writing exercise, and create a graphic organizer describing their lives. They set personal goals for the...

Complete exercises for conjunctions in this conjunctions lesson. Middle schoolers work in pairs to combine sample sentences. They analyze the conjunctions and choose one to help them rewrite the sentences. Additionally, they may complete...

Students view and create art in several styles. They view African Masks, Picasso's portraits and self-portraits. They compare the two, then create a self portrait. In the second lesson, they view landscape paintings by folk artists....

Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson, 2nd graders act out familiar activities  by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....

Students identify contractions. In this phonics instructional activity, students define what a contraction is and give examples on the board. Students complete a worksheet as a follow-up.

Students write paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting details. In this paragraph writing lesson, students fix sentences and paragraphs. Students also write a paragraph that includes an introduction, supporting details, and a...

Middle schoolers read one of the most important documents in our nation's history: The Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. After everyone reads the proclamation, they set out to write a "You Were There" type of report on it. They pretend...

Second graders read the story, The Bundle of Sticks, and discuss the story elements within the story; setting, plot, conflict resolution.  In this readers theater instructional activity, 2nd graders reenact the...

Twelfth graders create an artistic version of a Vetruvian teen. For this anatomy lesson, 12th graders design an experiment to test the theory of the ideally proportioned man. They present their findings in class.

Observe images and discuss what messages they convey. In this critical thinking lesson plan, students determine whether works of art are trying to persuade their audience. They also consider the media and how they communicate messages to...

Young scholars take a field trip to an art gallery reflecting on the paintings they like the most. Individually, they use magazines to find pictures related to their personality. In pairs, they make a mask to represent their ethnic...

Students examine seven different African-American artists. In groups, they use the internet to identify their contribution and techniques to the art world and examine the time period in which the artwork was produced. To end the...

Young scholars consider works of art in their historical context. In this art in historical context lesson, students are encouraged to think about and record their prior knowledge of the historical period and to make inferences about the...