How does weather play a role in the lives of land and sea creatures? Find out with a activity focused on habitats and the ways animals from different homes are connected. Here, learners explore how the life of a jaguar and...

As the instructor reads aloud several quotes from five chapters of the story Matilda, class members mime their interpretation of the scenes. Then, after reading "Miss Honey" and "The Trenchbull" (chapters seven and eight), the...

Introduce your class to basic salutations in Spanish and English with a group of activities and exercises. The materials, which can be put together as a packet, include coloring pages, a matching activity, a fill-in-the-blank exercise,...

A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...

Wild feral hogs and an alligator wrestler are just two interesting aspects of Kathi Appelt's novel The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp. Using the novel study, scholars search the text for examples of the eight parts of...

Lead discussion and thoughtful analysis as pupils view Rabbit Proof Fence, a drama based on true story about three aboriginal girls who ran away from Western Australia to return to their Aboriginal families in 1931. Here you'll...

Fulfilling a dream requires a lot of hard work. A study guide for the novel A Single Shard shares the dream of a young Korean orphan. As readers work through the guide, they answer comprehension questions about Tree-ear and the...

Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...

What do a pair of stinky socks and a toy hamster have in common? The third lesson plan in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl uses silly objects to teach about figurative language. Zany pranks and role play...

Students write a comic. In this writing lesson, students discuss comic books and why they continue to be so popular. Students create a comic book using an imaginary character. Students must present a problem and solution in their comic.

Students sing and read the old favorite song Wheels on the Bus, and write new song text for a poster and a class book.

Students read Chasing Vermeer and relate the book to the author .  In this writing process lesson, students view Blue's Photo Album and see how the author writes and revises her work. Students discuss the process that all good...

Students recommend a book. In this book talk lesson, students watch Reading Rainbow book talks, choose a book to recommend to others and write a brief summary and recommendation. Students video tape their introduction and take pictures...

Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...

It's time for your scholars to become book reviewers! Start with a fun review of foods: are they good or gross? Learners apply these evaluation techniques to books, recording their thoughts on large pieces of butcher paper. Simply have...

Fourth graders review a fictional book in which they give an overview of the characters and storyline. Microsoft Word is used to type a final draft of their review and to create a cover page with a picture.

Students examine examples of the qualities of good writing skills and discuss how each of the traits add to the process of good writing. A variety of excerpts from literature provide samples for the exploration.

Reinforce the importance of the writing process with this publication lesson. Elementary and middle schoolers compose a parts of speech book which includes one page each for nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions,...

As your authors prepare to write a hypothetical novel, they need all the inspiration they can find! Using a book they have already read (and enjoyed), learners complete a literary analysis by filling in eight short-answer...

The secret to a successful literature circle discussion is preparation. Readers prepare for such a discussion by completing a two-page worksheet that asks them to summarize the text, record new words, ask and answer questions, and...

Second graders see how to identify and describe character, setting, and plot in various stories from picture books and story videos. They use picture books and story videos to practice identifying and describing the story elements.

Students look at picture books and describe the story elements. In this picture book lesson, students retell a story and begin to understand the story elements of plot, setting, and characters. Students complete graphic organizers to...

In this writing worksheet, students write 10 short stories using the full color picture prompts which are shown above the blank primary lines. There is a cover sheet with the title "My Stories" if students wish to make a book and use it...

Students investigate the history and etymology of New Year's Day. They listen to a teacher-led lecture about the background of New Year's Day, design an image of Janus, and write a story in the first person telling what Janus might say...