Define the meaning of a cognate and use the concept to help Spanish-speaking ELLs connect their first language to English. Middle schoolers explore Latin roots to find cognates in both languages. They relate the Spanish and English word...

Using The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, pupils practice sequencing events in a story. After reading the story, they head to the computer lab to use Kidspiration to sequence events. Then they create their own books to demonstrate...

What a great way to discuss European immigration in the 1700's to 1800's in America. Learners identify regions where immigration occurred, list the reasons people moved to the United States, and interview an immigrant about their...

What are diverse media formats? Have your class figure this out on their own through small-group brainstorming. The resource includes two related activities about different kinds of data that will help your class get a grasp of media...

Family traditions are the focus of a lesson that explores the lives of children in India and those in your classroom. Scholars examine their own family roles and traditions, then respond to an informative text detailing a young...

Young performing artists create a song or choreograph a dance to illustrate a theme in a text they are reading. Step-by-step directions are included.

Students consider how the Civil War impacted their community. In this Civil War lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to research the Civil War in Henry County, Georgia. Students use their findings to create multimedia...

Students explore solar power. In this solar power lesson, students build simple solar cookers after they study convection, conduction, and radiation. Students transfer their knowledge of how the solar cooker works to climate changes on...

Fourth graders investigate ecosystems. In this ecosystem lesson plan, 4th graders explore producers, consumers, and decomposers and study the interdependence of each.

Students are introduced to an Underground Weather Stations. In groups, they use the internet to research the weather in different parts of the United States locating each city. To end the instructional activity, they summarize the...

The Anasazi Indians of Mesa Verde are the focus of this art and social studies lesson. Working in pairs or groups of three, learners utilize computers and go online to search for websites about the Anasazi. Students will choose two or...

Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...

Create a "Double Bubble" to organize information in a Venn diagram-like graphic organizer.   There are a few options included to differentiate this assignment, but unfortunately, there are no topics for selection. Provide your...

What is a homograph? Develop your learners' vocabulary with a word association tool.   Language arts classes discover what a homograph is and how it can be used as a visual thesaurus. They discover the other uses for homographs...

Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...

After reading the Magic Tree House book Mummies in the Morning, learners talk about Ancient Egypt. They identify the plot, characters, setting, etc., explore vocabulary terms, and construct a pyramid. This will motivate your class...

Sixth graders estimate surface area of a pond using a random number table.

Consider the political, physical, and geographical factors that led to and marked the Westward Expansion. Learners will track the various routes developed during the 1800's. They create a first person journal describing what they see,...

Students access hurricane reports form the national weather service online, and draw hurricane paths. They discuss how hurricanes form and move. The research should be reported in a comprehensive presentation that can be given to a whole...

If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would you go? Use this question to interest your fourth, fifth, and sixth graders as they experiment with Mapquest or other direction-based resources. They choose where they'd like...

Art classes, like any lab class, require extensive preplanning and set-up time. Use this planning template in the quiet before the storm to identify the equipment and materials that will be needed, the procedures and processes...

Students investigate linear functions. In this mathematics lesson, students plot points onto a graph by solving the equations y=x and y=mx+b by being given numbers for x and solving for y.

Introduce the class to the Civil Rights Movement by taking a critical look at the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. They will pay close attention to the role women played in organizing the boycott and bringing national attention to the...

Pupils explain what a fossil is, learn six dinosaurs and tell one characteristic about each, then describe verbally what a dinosaur might have looked like.