Dr. Seuss and Walter Dean Myers team up to cover the topic of prejudice. Using The Sneeches (about the culture clash between star-bellied and bare-bellied Sneetches) and The Glory Fields (about a boy coming to America on a slave ship),...

Upper grade and middle school writers study the art of parody. In this language arts lesson plan, learners study the work of Lewis Carroll, read and discuss parodies from the book, Alice in Wonderland, and construct their own parody...

Eighth graders develop plot lines as a part of narrative writing process. For this plot lines lesson, 8th graders work in learning groups to create a plot line for a piece of literature they've read. Students discuss the general plot and...

Gain greater insight into poems using a poetry analysis worksheet. Here, scholars follow steps and answer questions to dissect any poem. Topics include the poem's meaning, theme, technique, and structure, as well as personal...

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...

Students use the rainbow technique to add details to their writing. In this writing lesson plan, students practice showing not telling to add visualization to their writing.

Students read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...

Second graders practice writing. In this five senses writing lesson plan, 2nd graders describe their experience on the field trip they took to the zoo. They work as a class and independently to come up with different things they saw,...

Students write an autobiographical essay. In this writing activity students read a narrative, Panic in Paris, and review the elements of a narrative as a class discussion. Well-known stories are used as examples for writing their own...

Students practice framing issues. In this writing skills activity, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to look at specific topical issues by framing them. Students then create collages on current issues and...

Scholars learn about the Hero's Journey as they read Ray Bradbury's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh." They analyze the story's structure and narrative techniques. Finally, they write summaries of the text's central idea and use their...

Why do artists create? To solve a problem, of course. Young artists work individually and then in groups to create observational, imaginative, and narrative drawings in response to an assignment that requires them to employ all 16...

Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...

Look at life from a bug's perspective, and create a wonderful image based on what you think it sees. Learners use the crayon resist painting technique to draw and paint and picture of a bug's world from its point of view. Tip: This would...

Students in a Spanish class are introduced to the techniques of creative writing. In groups, they focus on the pre-writing section of creative writing and keep a folder of their works throughout the lesson. They end the lessons by...

Second graders create a Mother's Day Writing Project in this lesson. They review the assignment's expectations, and develop their rough draft letters and illustrations. They then peer edit their rough drafts and write their final copies.

Students explore literature by examining story elements. In this storytelling lesson, students identify the importance of setting, and characters within a story. Students answer questions about their personal opinions on storytelling and...

This Veterans Day inspire scholars to say thank you to a veteran. Here, learners discover key details about a specific war using an interactive timeline, and then write a thank you letter offering their gratitude to someone who risked...

Although this lesson is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content and style used by...

After viewing the West of the West's documentary Cache, individuals craft either a newspaper article chronicling the discovery of the cache on San Nicolas Island, a historical narrative of the placement of the cache in the cliff side, or...

Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...

Students investigate poetry by incorporating images into the words of a poem.  In this language arts lesson, students discuss poetry writing devices and self expression with their classmates.  Students create a film about the...

Students create stories based upon the techniques of author Maurice Sendak in Where the Wild Things Are.  They use a word processing program and the Apple software program GarageBand to create new voices for the story. ...

Third graders write, type, and print imaginative stories about any phase of winter.