Readers of Tunes for Bears to Dance to are asked to write a personal letter to Henry, the main character in Robert Cormier's young adult novel, offering Henry advice about whether he should do as Mr. Hairston wants.

The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether...

Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...

The story of Abe Lincoln serves as the backdrop to this vocabulary-in-context activity as you read David Adler's A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln. Scholars learn these politically themed words before listening to you read the story...

This vocabulary-in-context strategy can be applied to any book that learners read with you; however the activity here is designed around Byron Byrton's fiction book, Airplane. First, introduce the new words you will learn: attendant,...

Key parts of an introductory paragraph (grabber sentence, connecting information, thesis) are highlighted in a presentation that uses color-coded sample paragraphs to illustrate how these parts combine to form a complete opening paragraph.

For this real-world example, algebra learners start to get a sense of how to represent the relationship between two variables in different ways. They start by looking at a partial table of values that define a linear relationship. They...

Darwin kept a travel diary as he voyaged to South America, noting the politics, geography, cultures, animals, and interesting facts he encountered. Your class will do the same. Each student chooses a country to research and keep a five...

Transitional words and phrases make writing smooth and ease oral fluency. This resource gives English  learners a chance to practice using common connecting words and phrases like above all, firstly (sic), instead, etc. Answers are...

Everyone is familiar with the beginning of Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be..." While reading Hamlet, help your middle schoolers analyze the lines that follow, but how do you help them make personal connections to the text? Use...

Investigate different types of math required for specific jobs. In this math in occupations lesson plan, use the Internet to research  what type of math one might need to know in order to be successful in different jobs. Complete a...

What kind of animal made those tracks? Explore some wild vocabulary in context as learners listen to Arthur Dorros' book, Animal Tracks. Before your read this, introduce the new words like bother, dam, reed,...

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

Fully analyze the elements of art and unexpected beauty in the William Merritt Chase's Still Life with a Fish. The class will examine the painting very closely, then use photography to express unexpected beauty in still life. This is a...

Early learners explore shapes using colored blocks. They first get some hands-on time with the blocks and then look at beginning math concepts regarding spatial relationships. They work with a partner to build a 6-8 block tower...

Practice literary analysis with your poetry pupils using the mysterious narrative poem "The Listeners." They examine the archaic language and answer 12 comprehension and analysis prompts. Foster creativity with these referential...

Cover both capitalization and the days of the week with a great kindergarten activity! Kids read each day of the week out loud, then write the name of the day on a line. They answer three questions about certain days of the week,...

Identify the main idea and the supporting details of a story in a literacy resource from Discovery Education. Complete with procedures, vocabulary, and assessment activities, this is a great way for pupils to practice their outlining...

Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...

Who was Vincent van Gogh? Most of the questions can be answered in two or three sentences; however, there is at least one essay prompt and one personal response question that require longer answers. Questions call for a good mix of...

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...

Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...

Practice converting a conventional number into scientific notation, and vice-versa. Using an applet, they perform the operations of multiplication and division on numbers expressed in scientific notation.

Get out those bells, sand blocks, and sticks! Your kindergarteners use their singing voices to ask and answer friendly questions while keeping rhythm. They take turns in a group and in pairs singing questions and answers while keeping...