Kids create cool clauses selecting a single starting sound. Ah, alliteration.

The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...

What do Lady Gaga and Dame Edith Sitwell have in common? As they examine Sitwell's poetry, class members learn that the similarities are far more than their unique appearance.

Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...

As the culminating activity in a unit study of poetry, class members demonstrate what they have learned about poetry by creating a notebook containing original poems they have written, published poems they enjoy, and analyses of...

If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing...

Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally,...

Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...

Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...

First graders identify ways in which math and language arts relate to their music. After being read a book, they sing a song about who took the cookies from the cookie jar. They recognize repeated patterns in the melody and rhythm and...

In this musical alphabet learning exercise, students try to make as many words as possible using only the letters of the alphabet. Students try to make 16 words.

First graders read the Poem "The Elephant" by Shel Silverstein and create a descriptive web in the shape of an animal. In this cross curricular music lesson, 1st graders recite a poem with rhythm, then listen to the song "The...

Students analyze the differences in similar songs.  In this music appreciation instructional activity, students discover the meaning of timbre and how it can drastically change similar pieces of music.  Students sing two pieces...

In this language arts worksheet, students practice sentence completion. Students are given two passages with missing words and they are to place words from the word bank in the blanks. There are thirty-six in all.

In this language arts worksheet, students learn to use a thesaurus to replace words they already know. Students read 20 sentences and replace the underlined word with a new word found in the thesaurus.

In this language arts worksheet, students discover that idioms are spoken or written sentences where the meaning is not obvious from the individual words used. Students read 10 idioms and match them to their meanings.

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...

Students take a virtual field trip to Memphis, Tennessee in their study of the blues, its characterisitics, founding fathers, and histororical influence on modern music. They compose blues lyrics that reflect present-day attitudes and...

Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.

Elizabeth Peyton is an artist who creates images of people (often famous) that she doesn't personally know. These images become part of her imagined community. Learners analyze her work, her community of imagined friends, and then create...

Young scholars form conclusions regarding the motivational effects of music on the mind during the Civil Rights era. In this Civil Rights movement lesson, students describe how music motivates, describe the motivational role in freedom...

Students study how war has shaped Canadian life, patriotism, propaganda, and music. They research primary source documents, novels, videos, and songs before celebrating Remembrance Day.

Little ones learn the tones mi, so, and la by singing an answer to a sung question. They play a name game to identify beat, then discuss songs with no beat. If there is time during this musical instruction lesson, they dance about the...

Understanding time signatures and rhythm counting are two very important parts of playing an instrument well. Here are three basic lessons rolled into one that prompt upper graders to play their instruments with care. They'll practice...