Students consider the meanings of Christmas by reading an op-ed. As a class, they then create a sequel to the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas," in which "Mamma" tells a story about the history of Christmas.

Third graders discuss books that have been banned and the things that they have in common. They explore the concept of freedom of speech and write poems based on their discussion.

Students explore how language shapes debate by researching the names and tags both advocates and opponents use when discussing a topical issue. For homework, they create name collages and write prose poems.

Students consider features of skyscraper using descriptive words, reflect on notion of skyscraper as orientation point in a city, and explore New York Times Building in Manhattan by reading and discussing article, "Pride and Nostalgia...

Tenth graders explore the self through a study of autobiographies. By writing daily in their journals, they improve their writing skills and write reflection pieces at the end of the year. Through a series of writing assignments, 10th...

Students create a video incorporating clay animation and skits. Using their video creation, students explain and explore the five basic food groups, nutrition news, nutrients, benefits and food examples. They maintain a food journal,...

Young scholars analyze tier two vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson plan, students explore vocabulary words used in Ruby the Copycat. Young scholars assess the meaning of new vocabulary words and record their new words in a word...

Students study the life of Jane Goodall and how she made an impact studying chimpanzees.  In this endangered species lesson students write in their journals.

"How are belief systems represented and reproduced through nature?" This essential question guides lesson 6 of this unit on The Odyssey (the rest of the unit is linked). Students first write about a scenario in which they are...

The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...

The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...

In this writing learning exercise, students explore and discover a variety of ways to help make writing more interesting and creative.

Students write a story using their journey to school as the setting. In groups, they discuss their experiences and browse through books to get ideas for their story. They practice using a thesaurus to find new verbs or adjectives they...

Students explore the concept that one's identity is imposed by others, such as one's family, friends, classmates, society, age, race, gender and socioeconomic status. They assess a poem pertaining to Vietnamese American identity and...

Students examine objects and determine if they are living or nonliving.  In this scientific observation lesson, students collect living and nonliving items from outside, record a drawing of each in their journal, and write a short...

A thorough lesson plan takes your first grade class through Jane Yolen's beautiful Owl Moon. It crafts the unit with clear objectives, high-level guiding questions, cloze activities and sentence frames, and extension...

Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...

Even though readers investigate matters of the heart, this activity promotes the inner workings of learners' brains. The fifth lesson of six has the teacher first model the strategy to the class before having small groups practice. To...

Students listen to the poem "Shapes" by Shel Silverstein in order to accurately and specifically describe shapes' rules/traits in their journals. They illustrate the poem and take turns reading during a creative shared reading session.

Students find examples of figurative language in "First Rain" in Out of the Dust.  For this Out of the Dust lesson, students takes notes on various type of figurative language and identify examples of each type in the poem.

Pupils observe crickets in the terrarium. Have them record in their journal any evidence of crickets having senses. Then they answer questions like these: How do they use their sense organs? Where are they are located?

Ninth graders explore I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this introductory lesson, 9th graders read Maya Angelou's poem "Still I Rise." Students write a journal telling what they believe is the message contained in the poem and discuss...

Students research representations of self-esteem in music and literature, reflect on their meanings and use in developing positive attitudes. They make a presentations based on their research. They also keep a daily journal.

Sixth graders select a prose, poetry, or nonfiction excerpt from a book of their choice and share it by reading aloud to their classmates, who identify the genre and respond to related questions in their journals.