Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...

Students determine that a fraction is a part of a whole or part of a group. They write and read fractions and solve various fraction problems. They create their own fraction problem using colored candies for their classmate to solve.

High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...

Students examine how different groups gave health services to pregnant immigrant women. They analyze the class and ethnic tensions during this time period. They work together in groups to read articles and answer questions.

Examine a variety of literary responses to Abraham Lincoln's death and the impact of perception. Your class can work in writing groups to analyze either poetry, eulogy, or a newspaper article. They retell the events of Abraham Lincoln's...

Young writers complete work with sentence structure. Theys go over the definition of a sentence before deciding whether given groups of words are sentences. They view and identify the sentences on a teacher made chart.

What is a natural resource, and what resources did the Lewis and Clark expedition seek? After reading an article on the mapping of the west, learners get into small groups to discuss the important natural resources of the period. They...

Create classroom community with this Bingo icebreaker, which has the group finding out interesting details about one another. For this version, individuals have a 25-square grid, each square containing one multicultural experience or...

Here is a week-long lesson on the roles of family members designed for first graders. In it, learners share stories of their families, listen to books about families read to them by their teacher, complete homework assignments and...

Introduce your class to drama! You cast each pupil as a different character from a story you have read. They are given a general outline of the scene, act out the scene multiple times, then discuss the weak and strong aspects of each...

After reading an article about how agritourism is helping boost the financial stability of local farms, middle schoolers answer comprehension questions. This is a case-study of Canadian pumpkin producers. It could be useful as a...

After reading an article on the alfalfa leafcutting bee, learners chart its characteristics alongside those of the honeybee. Then they draw the leafcutter lifecycle. The article provides fascinating reading when studying the role of...

Most middle schoolers probably feel that quilting is at best an activity left to their grandmothers. This lesson plan uses the Zome modeling system to get them to realize how shapes in quilting are really tessellations and repeating...

Students discuss the issue of putting seat belts on school buses to increase safety. Using the internet, they research the school bus safety record for their district. In groups, they interview school administrator's and debate the pros...

Students, after reading and discussing, "The Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka, explain the symbolism of Gregor's metamorphosis moving beyond a literal view of "he turned into a bug" into the idea that society/family/stress/environment led...

For this The Beatles and The Rolling Stones worksheet, students read a time line with eight points of information and then fill in the blanks in paragraphs concerning this information. Students answer twenty fill in the blank questions.

Learners think about the characteristics of a hero so they can later evaluate which historical figures on the heroes chart meet the criteria.

Pupils begin the instructional activity by reading a novel about the diversity of geography in Africa. They are to create an oral report based on information they research. They also communicate with someone through email about the...

Students use the internet to read research to find out what other communities are doing to solve the problem of underage drinking. They interview local experts and law enforcement. As a class, they debate the pros and cons of different...

Students identify butterfly habitats. In this butterfly habitats lesson, students read and discuss Where Butterflies Grow. Students study pictures and guess which are butterfly habitats. Students list the life needs of butterflies and...

Map the classroom with your kids to help them understand how maps work and how to read them. The lesson starts off with a story about animals living and moving around the globe, and then kids create maps of their classroom to show how...

“The mind is its own place. . .” and Milton’s Paradise Lost is sure to expand the vocabulary (and the minds) of young readers. Assist that growth with an activity that asks individuals to first select and define five unfamiliar words,...

Young scholars analyze the archetype of 'the fall' in Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this literary analysis lesson, students work in tiered learning groups to analyze the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Young scholars use the book of...

Learners read and analyze an African folktale. They read and discuss the folktale, analyze a map of Africa and Liberia, complete a worksheet, answer discussion questions, and analyze the patterns and analogies of the folktale.