As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's...

Learn more about the work of Gwendolyn Brooks with a language arts lesson. Young learners read an informational passage about the acclaimed poet before attempting a shape poem of their own.

Looking for a fresh approach to an end-of-unit project for The Odyssey? Check out a resource that has class members write their own hero's journey short story and then craft an illustration that depicts their tale. Apollonio di...

The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...

Learners create nature journals. In this introduction to the nature journal lesson, students discover the uses of nature journals and begin their own. Learners are challenged to use vivid, concise terms in their descriptive language....

Students take a stand on whether or not London could be dubbed a "nature faker." They support their position with evidence either historical or from the text. Students write an essay, complete with hypothesis and textual support, on...

Learners study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...

Ask your learners to dream up a myth set in modern day. These mythology writing prompts require individuals take on the role of an ancient Greek citizen who just woke up to a totally different world. Through this lens, class members...

What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...

Students examine how Jack London tells a story from the point of view of an animal. They read and discuss primary source documents, analyze text and excerpts, complete a chart, and explore various websites.

Poetry Soup, a reading and writing unit constructed by the Petrified Forest National Park, will have scholars hungry to learn about nature. The cross-content unit contains topics related to history, science, and language arts. Content...

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...

Students study tree identification. In this tree identification lesson, students design and assemble a tree tour booklet describing 5 trees found in their community. The booklet should feature common and Latin names of the species, a...

The four major trends of the 18th century (The Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, British global ambitions, and economic disagreements) are the focus of a PowerPoint that places in context such influences as deism, mercantilism,...

Teach your class about the Declaration of Independence while giving them practice working as a team. The resource breaks participants into groups and has them answer questions about specific grievances from the Declaration of...

As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...

Students work to preserve American National Parks. In this environmental activism lesson, students research the history of the national parks and determine why they were created. Students then focus on protecting the land, using it for...

The characters in The Grapes of Wrath come to life through an activity that asks groups to craft a dramatic monologue for a character in John Steinbeck's National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize winning novel.  Writers are...

High schoolers research some of the men and women who help to raise the environmental consciousness of the American people through their writings and drawings. They write a persuasive piece about an outdoor place which will connect...

Young scholars formulate theories about the Lewis and Clark Expedition about its purpose and impact on America. They write position papers supported with facts discovered in their research. Students include quotes, factual references,...

Third graders examine ancient world civilizations and the mythologies they created to explain natural phenomena, as well as the writers and poets who wrote about the mythologies.

In this biography comprehension worksheet, students read a 3 page selection on President Roosevelt and answer 8 multiple choice question about the selection. The selection is a

Students write a poem. In this writing lesson, students learn about Gwendolyn Brooks, a famous poet. Students discuss shape poetry and how it is written. Students choose an object from nature and write their own shape poem.