Here's an alternative to a traditional book report for your class to demonstrate that they understand and can articulate the main character's evolution and the social themes presented in Voltaire's satirical novel Candide. Your young...

Use this SMART board activity with any short story in your unit plan. The SMART board file contains a step-by-step guide to plot diagrams, including an interactive practice page and an assignment. This resource is beneficial for language...

Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...

Studying haiku poetry with your English class? Delving into Japanese history with your world history class? Here is an authentic and creative way to explore Japanese culture more deeply. Pupils will compare and contrast two tea caddies...

The photograph, Nellie and her Italian Soda is viewed and discussed by the class. They are instructed to use the photograph as inspiration to write a poem about non-events, or things that are beautiful in every day life. Pupils use...

Students listen to Isaac Stern lead a musician through steps to self-evaluating a performance. They compare their instrumental performance with a live vocal performance.

Third graders log on to the net, type in the address for Scholastic and browse the subjects for the week. They select one area of interest and generate five interesting facts about the article.

Students are introduced to the five food groups. In groups, they place different foods into the correct section of the Food Pyramid. Using different types of technology, they create one page of a class ABC book sharing what they know...

Young scholars complete an getting to know each other activity. In this personal names lesson plan, students play a name game, read a book about names, and then discuss why names are important. Young scholars design a name card on oak...

Third graders read the story "Trapped by the Ice" which is about the Antarctic adventures of Sir Ernest Shackleton. They identify, write and share examples of respect and responsibility demonstrated by the stories' characters. Students...

Third graders read Pepita Talks Twice and define the character traits of respect and responsibility. They write their examples of the characters traits on a character trait doll. Students recognize the character traits of respect and...

Students learn about bats.  In this bats and comprehension lesson plan, students read Stellaluna and share what they know about bats.  Students complete a learning log and Internet bat research worksheet.

Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Students read independently the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep and make connections between a text and the world. They summarize, paraphrase, analyze and evaluate skimming and scanning techniques when reading a novel. Each student...

Students complete a variety of activities in a unit about the art, culture, and traditions of Mexico. They read books about the Day of the Dead, create a skeleton puppet, and create a traditional Mexican tissue paper cutting. Students...

Meet with the school library specialist and work together to plan a visit and presentation on figurative language. After defining and examining examples of targeted terms, the class travels to the library where the SL has collected...

Use the internet to research the differences between families in the past and today. In groups, they identify the reponsibilities and roles of each member of the family. As a class, they compare and contrast non-fiction and fiction and...

Explore the U.S.S. Nevada. Researchers use primary sources, secondary sources, children's books and websites to study the naval ship. Their study commences with a class alphabet book on the ship. Intended to be part of a lesson plan on...

Being an informed citizen requires distinguishing fact from opinion and understanding persuasion methods. Secondary learners evaluate newspaper editorials. They read opinion pieces, identify the writer's purpose and position on an issue,...

Upper graders put their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution to the test when they are asked to mark which of several statements are from either the Constitution or the Communist Manifesto. A class discussion follows. Use this resource as...

With your middle schoolers, develop concepts such as philanthropy, civic responsibility, community service, and common good. Discuss famous philanthropists and what we can each give of our time, talent and treasure to better our...

Introduce "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namioka to your middle schoolers with a reader's resource page. It includes links to different activities, including a creative writing prompt about losing fifty years of your life, and a...

First graders examine the lifestyle of classroom and family pets in their natural habitat. They determine the needs of plants and animals, and how those needs are met. They listen to read alouds, sing songs, and draw using computer based...

Students develop skills in making nutritionally-sound food choices. Keeping a food diary, they analyze their food intake using the food pyramid as a guide. Students identify and explain the relationship of nutrition to personal health...