Students describe a pretend animal. They read "The After School Monster." Students read other books and discuss whether or not the characters are real. Students make a drawing of a pretend animal and of a real animal. They make up a...

Seventh graders are introduced to myths formed by many cultures as a unique genre of literature. They use critical thinking skills to compare and contrast mythic tales, compare versions of the same story, and respond to literature in...

Students read and analyze the novel, "Journey to Jo'burg " by Beverly Naidoo to assess a deeper insight to the history of South Africa and how it has impacted world events today. As they think more on a global level, they begin to...

Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River.  In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River.  Students document...

Students examine the science of drug addition. In this health related lesson plan, students take a pre-assessment about drug addiction, then read and discuss an article about how some drugs affect the brain to cause addition. They will...

Students plan a vacation to either a mountain, deep-sea location, rainforest or to the moon. In this vacation planning lesson, students research information about the location of their choice. They watch video clips on the SMARTBoard,...

Students explore the oceans from their origin. In this oceans lesson, students read and discuss excerpts from the Book of Genesis regarding the creation of the ocean. Students then clean up a mock oil spill, measure the volume and area...

Seventh graders study the ideologies of life, values, love, peace and struggle of African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans as citizens of the United States. Authors and artists are used as tools to open the eyes of the students...

Students make a connection between science and literature. After reading the first five chapters of the novel The Cay, they describe the physical characteristics of a coral reef, as well as describe and distinguish between the many...

Students conceive and create works of visual art that demonstrate comprehension of how the communication of their ideas relates to the media, techniques, and processes they use. They initiate, define, and solve challenging visual arts...

Young scholars explore the concept of racism.  In this character building lesson, students read a biography about a hero Matthew Henson.  Young scholars discover the challenges he, and others, faced during a time of...

This lesson invites students to interact with the play from their first encounter, determine actions implied from the text and better comprehend Shakespeare's language.

Students examine the distinctive cultural and historical attributes of Boston and Philadelphia. They research the history, geography and culture of their town or city to create a booklet.

Students make up a superhero. In this water quality lesson, students create a superhero with super powers that can improve water quality and availability.

First graders make connections between the purposes of rules. In this governing lesson students listen to a story about rules being broken. Students identify rules that they have at school or home.

Students take a closer look at archetypes. In this characterization instructional activity, students examine the setting and the characters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as they read and analyze the novel. Students consider how Twain...

Second graders conduct a class census to measure diversity.

Students examine American Indian artifacts through historical, cultural and artistic lenses. They explore the philosophy behind the Smithsonian Institute's new museum to honor American Indian history and traditions.

Students, in groups, create menus for five traditional meals from a country of their choice. They create a cookbook that includes all the recipes and describes when the traditional dish would be served.

First graders explore Aztec culture to gain understanding of relationship between music, recreation, and culture. Seven lessons on one page.

Students act as medical pioneers to establish a clinic in an under served area.t They work in teams of two to complete a portfolio about their clinic and examine new treatments in various area of medicine.

Students assess the importance of acceptance of self and others via the development of self-worth and the looking for the good in others not the bad. They explore the task of looking at the world through the eyes of others. In addition,...

Students evaluate their differences, then look at differences in plants. In this class team building and life science lesson, the class play a game that focuses on similarities and differences in the group, then students plant three...

First graders explore the genre of fables. In this fables lesson, 1st graders use various reading strategies to raise comprehension skills. Students make prediction and complete a prediction journal. Students understand that fables have...