Third graders practice using visualization to aid in their reading comprehension. After a reading a chapter from the book "Charlotte's Web," students write a brief summary of the plot using their visualizations, aided by reading...

Set up your class to read Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, through a class read-aloud and exploration of the setting. The detailed instructional activity outlines each step. First, class members read over the first few pages and...

High school artists observe and research the illustrations and techniques of N.C. Wyeth. They read (and reread) stories and illustrate the texts using methods inspired by Wyeth's practice. Includes detailed instructional plan and useful...

Students explore scenes from Katherine Paterson's book, Bridge to Terabithia. In this visualization lesson plan, students listen to the story read aloud. The students then choose words and phrases that paint a picture in their heads....

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

Newspapers are the perfect medium through which to explore different perspectives in informational text. After researching the fur trade and resultant colonization, groups write a newspaper, including an editorial page, selecting one of...

Introduce your high schoolers to some tough vocabulary. No, I'm not talking about the SAT list! Revisit Victorian literature to find tricky words we still use today. Using the Visual Thesaurus, learners will preview vocabulary in a quote...

"How important is freedom to you and your family?" The guiding question becomes much more powerful after your class reads and responds to a passage from a historical novel. While reading the passage, they complete a graphic organizer...

Fifth graders read a book.  In this informational text features lesson, 5th graders define captions and their purpose.  Students view an article and discuss the graphic aides that assist comprehending the information...

Explore the life inside trees as scholars learn vocabulary through Debbie Miller's informational text Are Trees Alive? Familiarize pupils with the new words they will hear like anchor, disease, awaken,...

Travel out to sea as scholars learn vocabulary in context through Kathleen Zoehfeld's informational book Dolphin's First Day. Go over the new words scholars will hear before reading: approach, coast, expert, feeble,...

Combine counting and vocabulary using Francine Bassede's book George's Store at the Shore, which has learners exploring new words and numbers 1-10. Suggested words for this text are: arrange, assortment, customers,...

The story of Christopher Columbus has fascinated young historians for centuries; use this vocabulary-in-context strategy to dive into Kimberly Weinberger's picture book about this classic explorer. Begin by introducing the new words:...

Your budding readers know what it's like to get to a word and think, "What does that mean?" Expand their vocabulary in context using Christopher Mitten's nonfiction picture book Firefighters. Get them ready by pre-teaching the new...

A biography writing lesson with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...

Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...

Adolescents compare and assess the efficacy of tobacco product health warning labels from around the world. In groups, they invent warnings and create labels that would be effective for teens and children. Discussion covers advertising...

Readers look closely at Scout in chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird. Learners use turn and talk and Analyzing Scout's and the Reader's Perspectives Note-catcher to compare their perspectives to Scout's. They then make a comparison to...

Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....

What do George Harrison, Vanilla Ice, and Steven Ambrose all have in common? The Warner Brothers’ films Batman Forever and The Devil’s Advocate? All are guilty of plagiarism. And if you are considering a research project and want to...

Create beautiful and simple presentations, sales pitches, lessons, and visual stories that utilize Getty Images, high quality photos licensed under Creative Commons, as well as your own prints.  What you create will demand people’s...

Students practice visualizing images as they read in this lesson. Students create an oral collage with their visualizations. Students are then given three separate scenarios to visualize, and are assessed on their description of their...

Third graders listen to the story Where the Wild Things Are, and draw pictures to illustrate what they think is happening. Students share their visualizations with their partners.