Association for Library Service to Children
Summer Reading List Grades 6-8
What better activity is there for summer than reading? Provide your pupils with 25 book ideas for their summer reading pursuits. A variety of different genres are represented on this list, and each book is paired with publication...
Curated OER
Teaching The Great Gatsby with the New York Times
East Egg, West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and the green light. Bring Gatsby, the Jazz Age, and the American Dream to your classroom with a resource designed for teachers. Included in the treasury are six great teaching ideas for F. Scott...
Curated OER
Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Disorders Extending Beyond the "Norm"
Learners develop an understanding of autism by engaging in an inquiry-based discussion. Pupils are exposed to the vast array of defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. They create posters about the developmental...
Curated OER
A Musical Textures Activity
Students identify textures in music. In this music appreciation lesson, students listen to a variety of classical music pieces and identify components of musical textures including monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony.
Curated OER
Chinese Calligraphy
Students explore Chinese culture and Chinese calligraphy. In this Chinese calligraphy lesson, students create paintings using Chinese techniques. Students describe the differences in Chinese art and other culture's art. Students listen...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance Movement and its Music
Harlem Renaissance lesson plans can bring the music, poetry, and literature of this time period alive.
Curated OER
Get Ready, Get Set, PLAN
Students complete the theme activities in the unit for the month of September. In this planning lesson, students complete various themed activities for the month of September. Students complete movement activities, autonomy and social...
Curated OER
Newberry Award Reading Project
Fifth graders complete a project for a Newberry Award winning book. This ambitious lesson outlines the expectations for students regarding their project. Included is a list of possible books and a variety of writing, art, music and...
Curated OER
Define My Own Destiny: Using Arrested Development and Lauryn Hill to Teach Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun
Literary themes don't just belong to literature. High schoolers listen to the lyrics of modern songs by Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and others to enhance their study and to connect to characters, conflicts, and themes of...
Curated OER
From Page to Stage
Students, utilizing video clips and Web sites, compare specific passages from original texts to moments in Broadway musicals on which they were based, analyzing similarities and differences between them. They adapt literature into a...
Curated OER
Name That Tune
Integrating technology and music can be a snap with lessons like this one! Kids in a junior high band class took to the Internet to download and practice playing their instrument with a computer generated back up band. They practice...
Curated OER
Dance: Discovering the Culture of Gullah
It's wonderful to see a lesson that incorporates art, movement, and writing. These three forms of creative expression are explored as learners dance to music from the Gullah people of West Africa. They analyze several paintings, listen...
Curated OER
Who Fought for the Union?
Learners read New York Times articles, letters, and listen to songs written from a soldier's perspective during the Civil War in order to understand who was fighting in the Union Army. This is a great lesson, complete with weblinks,...
Curated OER
Hands-On Ways to Engage Students during Youth Art Month
Enjoy an artful departure from spring fever through creative art lessons.
Peace Corps
Celebrating Our Connections Through Water
Water is vital for survival, but how does it help global cultures flourish? Elementary and middle schoolers learn about the different cultures around the world that celebrate water and incorporate it into their festivals or traditions.
US Department of Health and Human Services
Learning Something New: How Does It Feel?
Use song and dance to help your youngsters identify their feelings and embrace learning. Starting with a brainstorming activity, class members talk about learning new things and how this made them feel. After listing to the song, and...
Honors College at Scholar Commons
From Start to Strike: A Lesson Plan for the Whole Theatre Experience
Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A Time for All Seasons - Spring
Celebrate the arrival of spring with this fun primary grade science unit. Engaging young scientists with a variety of hands-on activities and inquiry-based investigations, these lessons are a great way to teach children about...
Curated OER
Rebuilding and Recovering
What does it mean to rebuild and recover after a major event? Your class will explore this theme while they discuss and discover the events surrounding September 11. They will also look at other examples and then create art pieces that...
K20 LEARN
Diversity Quilt: A Lesson on Culture
After brainstorming the various aspects of cultural identity, class members interview each other, examine video clips, and read stories to discover how these aspects reveal one's cultural identity. Individuals then craft a quilt square...
Curated OER
Aesthetics and Affect in Music from Around the World
Students explore traditional music of different societies around the world by listening to number of different musical recordings, discuss how music makes them feel, examine how music is central to cultural traditions, and compose short...
Curated OER
Music Makers
Students explore distinct styles that have characterized famous musicians and conductors. By studying one musician or conductor in-depth, students become experts on this person's musical style and are given the opportunity to share.
Curated OER
Notating a Rainy Day
Young singers learn how to notate the rhythms and melodies of a familiar song using Kodaly hand signals and manipulatives. Individuals then create their own compositions and sing them using Kodaly notation.
Curated OER
Activity Plan Mixed Ages: Do the Animal Dance!
Learners create a dance based on animal movements. In this kinesthetic lesson plan, the students will read and imitate animals in a creative way and share their dances with the group. The lesson includes a take-home activity and a math...