To set the stage for reading Paradise Lost, class members compete an anticipation guide containing statements that connect to themes in Milton's epic poem.

Students create an "art garment" incoporating personal writings and found quotes with images of life and dreams on a disposable or recycled garment. This lesson includes scoring rubric.

Make discussing quotation marks interesting by using this presentation. Each Disneyland themed slide includes an example, punctuation rule, and Micky Mouse style sound effects. Each example has a context which is important for making...

Eighth graders identify and explain the connections between new ideas and information and their previous beliefs, values, and experiences. They understand that certain themes are relevant to their lives. They realize the harm of clicks...

Fifth graders create healthy menus. In this nutrition lesson, 5th graders research healthy eating options using the Internet, and design a personal food pyramid.

Model for your class members how to use a definition map to make connections between new words and prior knowledge. Although the strategy is designed for social studies classes, the approach can be use at any grade level and in any...

High schoolers investigate a minimalist dance using two props, a chair and a pillow. They demonstrate transferring a prop from one person to the next in a task-like manner. Then they work as a group to transfer a prop with restrictive...

Students enter personal information into a database. The information is used to reinforce the ideas of inheritance that is found in 1st Grade Science. Access to technology is essential for this lesson. Adding the use of a mirror for...

Math and religious studies are integrated together using using cuisenaire rods and Kid Pix for this problem-solving exercise. In pairs, they match different colored rods to represent various groups of people. Meanwhile, students at...

Eleventh graders examine the concept of the journey into self through a variety of literary genres. They express the personal notion of self by creating a picture poem and writing a personal reflection esssay.

Students interview a person who recently visited a country they are interested in knowing more about. Using the Internet, they research the country noting the geography and economic situations of the country. In groups, they import the...

Seventh graders write scripts for scenarios to be "re-solutioned". One re-solution scenario will be role played for whole class. They also identify what personal responsibility means and who is responsible in taking personal...

Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...

Martin's Big Words, by Doreen Rappaport, is a story about Martin Luther King. Encourage your learners to create a list of questions before beginning the reading. Also, learners should be working on monitoring and clarifying to...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

Prior to reading Night, class members engage in a guided imagery activity that helps them make text-to-self connections to Elie Wiesel’s account of his experiences with his father in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Complete directions, as well...

The children's book Humphrey the Lost Whale tells an amazing tale of a community joining together for a common cause. Read this book with your class, making connections between the events in the story and personal experiences of...

Young writers identify and generate words using the strategies of phonics on the Making Words computer program. Words are typed instead of having to use tiles or paper. Extension activities such as playing the memory game, drawing...

Students explore different instruments and what role they play in Jazz. They also each person's role in a democratic society.

Students look at portraits to learn history. Making connections is done with the identification of details found in the portraits. The gallery depicts the historical times of the Revolutionary War in Colonial America.

Tenth graders define the term slang, explaining its various social, historical, and racial contexts, so as to articulate when it can be appropriately used as a means of effective communication. They use their own personal slang lexicon,...

Third graders share some special occasions/events observed by their families/neighborhoods, and special activities/traditions connected with the event. They identify their own culture's customs and those of others.

In this health worksheet, students look for the connections needed to attain the knowledge of cardiac function. The sheet includes the background information.

This dual vector lesson has the class watch a video about a person's swim of the English Channel. The class then uses a computer program to analyze dual vectors of wind's effect on a flight path of a plane as compared to the water...