Use background information and vocabulary to familiarize your students with the concept of symbiosis and the role agriculture plays in the shared relationship. They then write the vocabulary in their lab books or journals, and read the...

Pupils are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...

Explore Chinese culture and customs with your class and allow them time to connect and compare their own experiences with experiences of character a from the short story The All-American Slurp. They create a short presentation on some...

First graders investigate two different types of whales; toothed and baleen. They describe what the different types of whale eat. They listen to a cassette of Dyan Sheldon's, The Whale Song before making stick puppets to dramatize the...

Students investigate the concept of a hurricane by using the cartoon series "The Magic Schoolbus" to simulate the fantasy of traveling through a hurricane. The lesson uses a KWL graphic organizer in order to guide student inquiry and as...

Seventh graders are read the story "EMS Code Blue" and asked to share what they would do in the different situations. As a class, they discuss the importance of getting help for mental or social problems and are given a list of resources...

Sixth graders listen to story and respond with comments or questions. They brainstorm unsafe behaviors and randomly fill out templates with different risky behaviors listed on the board. They play RISKO, the Bingo type game.

Before you embark on reading Bud Not Buddy with your class, have them imagine they are in Bud's shoes. They must prioritize which of 13 items listed on a printable worksheet they would take with them to survive as a Depression-Era...

After reading chapter six of Ordinary People with your class, conduct this activity with your class. Turn the lights down, put on your softest voice, and have them try to imagine that they lost a close friend. Then, encourage them to...

Second graders explore what life in the Chicago area was like hundreds of years ago. They discuss how settlers impacted the environment, and why there are no longer herds of buffalo in the Chicago area today. They read an article and...

What is figurative language? Introduce your young learners to the most popular forms of figurative language: the simile and the metaphor. Start by reading "Willow and Ginkgo" by Eve Merriam, and identify where similes are used. Then look...

Fifth graders describe the reasons for, nature of, and outcomes of the Second Seminole War. They determine that Seminole women and men faced many hardships as they fought for their survival. They relate a story of a Seminole "first"...

Students explore the many adaptations desert animals have made to survive in their challenging habitat. They use this information to invent new creatures well-suited for desert life.

First graders explore and explain that different plants and animals live in different kinds of environments. They illustrate various plants and animals and how they survive in the places where they live. A nature journal for enrichment...

Students investigate the horrors of World War II by participating in a role-playing activity.  In this holocaust lesson, students read handouts describing the atrocities committed against the Jews in Germany during the mass...

Students explore characteristics of Indian Tales/ Parables. In this literature instructional activity, students compare contemporary society to western culture through analysis. Students create their own tales using this genre.

Students explore the psychological coping mechanisms of cancer patients and relate individual cancer survivors' stories to Dr. Kubler-Ross' stages of grief. They use first-person accounts, discussion and journals to explore these concepts.

Students read the story Gold Fever about the Gold Rush and write journal entries as if they were miners. In this Gold Rush lesson plan, students also pull out rocks from a back, and if they pick a gold one, they have struck it rich!

Students look into the development of religious beliefs. In this ancient civilization instructional activity, students research the founders of several world religions including Akhenaton. Students use their findings to create world...

Middle schoolers study the effects of the Great Exchange on the Americas.

Students read the epic, Beowulf and examine the nature of good and evil. They compile a list of questions about loyalty tests and take turns asking and answering them. they create Beowulf comic strips and research other epic tales.

Fifth graders explore history using a story of a boy finding a diary and reading it until the last entry suddenly ends. The end of the story is the focus of the lesson as students answer guided questions to find the truth.

Students observe and talk about wind using no weather instruments. In this wind lesson plan, students use their senses to observe wind. They also interview an Elder about wind.