Students list examples of appeals to the senses in the poem Out of the Dust.  In this Out of the Dust lesson, students discuss ways that the author brings the story alive through appeals to the senses.  Students discuss...

Students explore changes and how to adapt to them. They discuss the seasons, changes in the weather, and different stages of matter. Students write a poem about change. Additional cross curriculum activities are listed.

Middle schoolers are responsible for producing works for, coordinating (with the teacher?s assistance) and mounting an exhibition to be presented at a parent-teacher open house. They examine literature by Henry David Thoreau and other...

First graders analyze ways to save our natural resources and preserve the environment. In this environmental protection lesson, 1st graders complete four activities to analyze the importance of our natural resources and what trash does...

Students act out verbs. In this verbs lesson, students identify and highlight the action words in a poem. As a class, the students act out the verbs, reinforcing the idea that verbs are action words.

Pupils examine art related to the Civil War. They participate in activities that allow them to write poetry and drawings. They create their own journal and collect their work in a binder.

Students examine 1930's America through literature. In this Dust Bowl activity, students read Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust and set up vocabulary journals and question bookmarks to log their thoughts and impressions as they read the novel.

Learners examine gender bias and stereotypes. In this discrimination lesson students participate in class discussions and poetry reading in order to examine the gender stereotypes of fears and develop the...

Students examine the poem To Walt Whitman by Angela de Hoyos. They divide into groups. Each group creates a poem written from one of two perspectives: to Walt Whitman or to de Hoyos from Whitman.

Eleventh graders work in groups to choose a project/presentation from a list of approved activities to develop. They select and use appropriate software for organizing and refining their product. Groups produce a short...

Learners reflect on field trips in writing. In this journal writing lesson, students write about a recent experience by using 4 of their senses to tell what they remember. They turn these into poetry. 

Students complete activities for the autobiography of Maya Angelou. For this autobiography lesson, students write a journal entry about their life and discuss the morphology of the word autobiography. Students use active reading...

Students write poems based on words and phrases found in an obituatuary. They write autobiographical obituaries that imagine their own lives and future accomplishments.

Students study ethnic discrimination. In this discrimination lesson, students define ethnicity and ethnic discrimination in the global community as well as steps against it. Students examine their own ethnic backgrounds and examine...

Young scholars explore geographic changes by researching the state of Florida. In this Florida history lesson, students identify the storms and disasters that have created sinkholes in portions of Florida. Young scholars read the book...

Students use different pieces of music and writings to explore the theme of self-reliance and individuality. After viewing a video clip, they discuss how the images made them feel. They keep a writing journal to evaluate their own...

First graders identify basic needs of plants. In this plant growth lesson, 1st graders observe types of plants and review the parts of a plant as well as the development of a seed. Students review related vocabulary and read The...

Students review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes lesson, students define similes and identify examples. Students read and analyze the similes used in poetry by Derricotte,...

Sixth graders read the books, The Invisible Thread: An Autobiography by Yoshiko Uchida and Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki about Japanese Americans during World War II. They hold discussions, take quizzes, and write essays about the...

First graders explore, analyze, document and study weather and the water cycle. They observe the weather and begin a weather journal. Each student interacts with the concepts of evaporation, condensation and precipitation, clouds,...

Students explore themes of prejudice and acceptance. In this character education instructional activity, students listen and respond to several fiction books, poems, and lyrics with a similar theme. Students locate articles with the main...

Students engage in a study about the life of young girl in the book "Bums In The Attic". They read the narrative story while considering the first person point of view. Students write a journal that analyzes the author's style of writing.

Students consider the notion and purpose of truth commissions, They work in groups to predict the commission's effectiveness in its efforts to promote peace and reconciliation among Liberians. Finally, students create found poems that...

Students investigate the Trail of Tears. For this United States history lesson, students identify the reason for removing the Cherokee Nation and role play a modern day situation similar to the Indian Removal Act. Students reflect their...