Examine American Indian art and culture by observing contemporary art and creating original pieces. Class members discuss artwork included in the plan and use these images to help inspire their own work, which should represent...

Show your class that there is more than one way to communicate an idea. Pupils note down their ideas and then brainstorm a few things they want to include in their pictures. Then, in the box provided, they sketch and describe their...

Students watch an online slideshow that shows Cornelia Funke's transition from an illustrator to a writer. They discuss her writing process from the way she gathers ideas to how and where she writes. Next, they work in groups to choose a...

Third graders learn the importance of letter writing for communication. In this letter writing lesson plan, 3rd graders identify how letter writing was important in the life of Abigail Adams. Students understand what a primary source...

Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...

Elementary writers practice writing descriptive paragraphs by adding adjectives and sensory words to their writing. They use a picture of a monster for their descriptive paragraph. This 12-page lesson should increase your charges...

Close reading doesn't mean to literally read text close to your face, but rather to pay attention to particular details in order to develop a deep and purposeful understanding of text. The first part of a five-part resource provides an...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Boiling down any division problem to a one-digit divisor problem sure makes estimation easy. The activity shows how to estimate division problems by using place value understanding and basic arithmetic facts to simplify the division....

Birds, plants, and vegetation, is there anything more lovely? There is! Engage your class in the scientific process, data collection, and data analysis. They stroll their campus observing and identifying various birds and plants,...

Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this instructional activity could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing...

The transition of power between former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump may be the first political process that your students have followed. Fill out the details between these two leaders with a set of vocabulary...

A literature review goes beyond simply giving a novel a thumbs up or thumbs down. In fact, it may not require an opinion at all. Using a handout on literature reviews, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers...

Combine participial phrases and creative writing with this lesson, which is equally helpful for writing skills and conventions. After a mini-lesson on participial phrases and reading the picture book Dancing in the Wings, pupils use a...

November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month! If your class is participating (or simply doing a narrative writing unit), this peer review lesson is part of a larger unit which can be easily found online. Once your writers have...

Get scholars thinking about the scientific process with this fun experiment they can do at home. Learners practice reading directions as they underline each instruction in a procedural paragraph. They create a flow chart and record...

Readers of The Wednesday Wars respond to model "Right There," "Think and Search," "On My Own," and "Author and You" (QAR) questions before crafting their own for class discussion.

The second segment of a seven-part series reviews the challenge of determining whether gargling with salt water helps a sore throat. Individuals journal what they know about the challenge and what they are trying to figure out to...

Forgive me, I regress. Building upon previous modeling activities, the class examines models using the regression function on a graphing calculator. They use the modeling process to interpret the context and to make predictions...

First graders identify the different steps of the scientific method. In this life science lesson, 1st graders apply this method when conducting a series of hands-on activities. They collect data and write observations in their journals.

Is your essay coherent? Does it make sense? Is it formatted correctly? Does it adhere to standard English conventions? This helpful and informative slide-show walks learners step by step through the editing and proofreading process. Each...

For those enrolled in a college honors program, four years of hard work culminate in one paper—an honors thesis. A handout outlines the steps to writing the paper, beginning with a sample timetable and time management instructions. Once...

Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...

Useful in an Of Mice and Men unit, or in a unit that focuses on descriptive writing, this instructional activity prompts young authors to impersonate John Steinbeck's writing style in the opening passages of the novel. A Six Trait...