The house lights dim, the curtain parts, lights slowly come up, revealing the stage. Before the actors appear, before a word is spoken, the audience is drawn in by the lighting, by the colors, by lines of the set, by the props, and...

Use a performance task to assess third graders' ability to read informational text. After they plan a lemonade stand business, young entrepreneurs implement that plan through informational writing. The task assumes learners can...

Pupils study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...

When choosing what foods to eat, there are a lot of factors to consider. To help make the decision a little easier, young learners work in small groups developing short plays, stories, or advertisements that address the different issues...

Third graders investigate world currency by creating their own coin art.  For this government lesson, 3rd graders examine the characteristics of different coins and create their own design for a new one.  Students discuss and...

Dissect the parts of an advertisement with your class. Middle schoolers discuss advertisements and locate the hook in them. Then, they create an advertisement for a business, in which they include the name of the business, an...

Create a list of random acts of kindness and have your class perform them during a designated week. Learners will also participate in a project centered around being kind to others. Each grade chooses their kindness project, and then...

What is life like on a Native American reservation? Learn about the ways a tribal government works with a reading comprehension activity. After reading a short passage, kids use context clues to answer five comprehension questions.

Students research four Maine based businesses involved with lobster fishery as a career analysis. In this career exploration lesson, students research lobster fishery businesses and write a class book showing the progression of a lobster...

A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....

Class groups are challenged to solve the school’s parking problem. Each team must establish ground rules for their discussion, determine criteria that must be met, and brainstorm possible solutions. Next, they agree on one solution and...

Determine if the graphic novel Maus, by Art Spiegelman, is an appropriate reading level for your class by performing this cloze activity. Kids read the passage and attempt to complete the sentences on a second or third read through. All...

The first of a three-part series on bullying, this plan has class members present skits about bullying, write and sign an anti-bullying pledge, and complete a service project. For the skit, learners use information from previous lessons...

Young people today have to be very careful with how they present themselves online. Show them the possible impact of their online activity and what employers might see when performing a basic search. The instructional activity provides a...

Students discuss how much they understand of satire and parody. They read an article about an Iraq news parody show. They create and act out their own parody skit. They write an essay about using humor in grave situations.

Considering a unit study of American Musical Theatre? What better way to start than at the very beginning. Eight pairs of cards provide class members with background information about the genre from 1893 through 2004. The cards are...

Bring the world of video messaging into your classroom with this creative communication application. Offering the ability to create animations with customized characters, backgrounds, and recorded messages, this resource is guaranteed to...

Learners identify and describe characteristics of contemporary artwork. Then, they create gesture drawings, a drawing technique used to express the action of a subject in a short period of time.

Sixth graders discover different careers in music. In this career exploration lesson, 6th graders explore four different categories of music careers: music education, music performance, music business and music therapy. Students...

Students act as characters from Romeo and Juliet to carry on a cross-fire type discussion using contemporary language.

Students develop their writing skills. For this business letter lesson, students write a letter of nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame regarding a music artist of their choice. Students read their finished letters to their peers.

Students write a business letter. In this factual writing instructional activity, students complete an online activity. Groups also draft a reply to a complaint letter. A worksheet is included for extra practice.

Students examine business cards, noting the essential components. They design cards for a fictitious restaurant. They include names, addresses, and graphics on the cards.

Students engage in a game in order to perform a Language Arts vocabulary review. The use of the game is valuable in order to maintain student attention and motivation throughout the lesson.