Fifth graders create items to barter. In this Native American bartering lesson, 5th graders read a book, design and make items, and barter with their peers. Students reflect on the experience through journal writing.

Middle schoolers share the difficulties they have in determining what to write or draw for a project. In groups, they view examples from three different artists and discuss how their personal experiences affected their art. They...

Students create dioramas that depict a habitat. In this habitat instructional activity, students use a variety of art items to develop either a marine, freshwater/pond, or forest habitat in a box. They write an expository essay about...

Students examine the different branches of the primate family tree. They create fact cards about various species of non-human primates and then write fictional skits about interactions among the different primates.

Students explore the genre of biography in both its traditional and nontraditional forms. They examine Edmund Morris's unorthodox biography of Ronald Reagan. They conduct research on an historic American and write their own biographies.

Students explore human migration, refugees and human rights. They read articles about immigration, create a migration journal, and participate in a mock human rights commission meeting. After collecting information about immigration,...

Students explore the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. They read to explain a new topic and write to inform readers of the historic events they explored.

Students discuss literature about technology in the 20th century. In this book study lesson plan, students read I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and compare the fiction to technology in the 20th century.

Invite learners to determine which affix and base word combinations create new words. This activity allows pupils to play around and create words that match specific meanings.

Students review how men were recruited into Nelson's Navy and discuss how they think recruiting is handled today. They work in pairs to research life on board a naval ship in both Nelson's Navy and today's Royal Navy using the National...

Students watch a Powerpoint Presentation about turtles. They explain that there are 3 types of turtles and where each type lives. They describe a turtle's body and state some things that turtles eat.

Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

Learners research the western movement in order to learn note taking strategies with nonfiction texts. They use the Internet to search for important information about the western movement using the Cornell Notes note-taking system. They...

First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...

Students explore the Passageways website. They read to compare and contrast the motivations and accomplishments of two explorers.

Eighth graders discuss invention of bicycle and early obstacles to riding, listen to and discuss short story "Taming the Bicycle" by Mark Twain, define vocabulary words from story, and create and present humorous "how to" project to...

Second graders describe the impact of certain figures in United States history, including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They describe experiences of early American explorers and compose narratives from the perspectives of others.

Students examine the challenges that faced the United States as a new nation, especially those related to exploration, expansion, and international affairs. They study the chronology of events related to the expedition of Lewis and Clark.

First graders examine the significance of the American bison to the American Indians of the Great Plains. They create a story in pictographs in the style of American Indians of the Plains.