How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...

Teaching about fiction genres can  be challenging. The lesson plan here, designed for library media specialists, offers a fun way to do it. In the lesson plan, learners visit the library and learn about the different types of...

Students research the Columbine tragedy. They read about the media role of watchdog on the government. Students discuss and debate how the media has been involved in the latest release of Columbine videos and other material.

High schoolers deconstruct advertising messages by analyzing parody ads and exploring the purpose of satire. Then they create their own parodies based on real ads discussed in class. A creative activity to extend any study of media,...

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this lesson from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm possible functions...

Help learners understand their own biases and how their perspectives may have been influenced by biased media sources. They keep a journal while viewing videos, exploring websites, and engaging in class discussions related to gay and...

Read Mary Ann Hoberman's book A House is a House for Me to introduce the idea that a library is a house for shelves of books. Young readers practice alphabetizing in the picture book (easy fiction) section of the library. They learn how...

Fifth graders explore different kinds of poetry. They work in groups to collect different styles of poetry. Then they use charts to organize the attributes of various poems. Conclude the lesson by having each individual choose the style...

Making the transition to a higher-tech school library or computer lab? This plan suggests 5th graders undertake a scavenger hunt and make a PowerPoint to educate younger schoolmates about how to use information resources in an...

Students recall and use previous knowledge of the library's reference and nonfiction sections. Also they utilize various forms of reference (encyclopedias & dictionaries) and nonfiction books.

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique high schoolers' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book,...

This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Third graders explore the arrangement of nonfiction. In this library skills lesson, 3rd graders examine Dewey Decimal classification as they collaborate to locate nonfiction materials in the library/media center.

While the ideas for Ancient Greek research are solid, there is little detail to help make your job easier. The focus here is familiarizing your class with online databases and print resources in their school library. After direct...

S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is the anchor text in a unit that asks readers to reflect on their own identity, their place in their family, in groups with which they identify, and in school. 

During or after reading Catch-22, have your high school scholars complete this research project. First they'll brainstorm a list of people they might like to research, then they'll dive into your library's resources! There are...

Third graders create a table of contents. For this library skills lesson, 3rd graders read Welcome to the White House and use the provided worksheet to create a table of contents for the book.

Movie theaters, shopping malls, television, the Internet ... no matter where people go, they are inundated with advertisements. Scholars discuss the topic of ad awareness using the first of four Admongo lessons about advertising. Pupils...

Students use research skills and primary sources to complete a equal educational opportunities scavenger hunt activity in pairs. They locate key facts, examples, and information about the inequities in U.S. schools and create projects...

First graders practice borrowing library books. In this library instructional activity, 1st graders discuss what would happen if animals could borrow library books. They visit a website where they watch what would happen. They discuss...

Young scholars read and understand a variety of genres in a library setting. In this library activity lesson, students act as detectives and use clues in text and pictures to hypothesize the title of the missing book for the library...

Students analyze the meaning and process of categorizing items, people and events as 'the best.' students then defend pieces of literature, images, and sounds that they feel most represent 'the best of the 20th century.'

Using your school's media center, internet research, and a SMART board, 7th graders research a chosen poet and write a research report. Additionally, 7th graders explicate one poem by the poet within their report. Several resource links...