Fourth graders explain the difference between respectful and disrespectful behaviors. They review and explain the six pillars of character, by writing in their journals reasonable ways they can demonstrate the six pillars in their lives.

Students investigate Internet resources about Sharon Creech's book, The Wanderer. They examine resources on oceans, sailing and journal writing.

Pupils research a person who had a role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. They work together to create and perform a skit showing the person they researched role. They write their own journal entries to end the instructional activity.

Learners participate in a discussion about the Spanish influence on the Caribbean islands. They define the Spanish words in the book, Isla, and respond to a question about cultural influences in a response journal.

Students create questions pertaining to Catherine, Called Birdy.  In this Catherine, Called Birdy lesson plan, students predict the type of book from the cover and discuss the style.  Students relate their questions about God...

Pupils write a paper in which they detail the daily routine of an architect.  In this The Stone Cutter lesson, students discuss the end of the novel and share journals with peers.  Pupils choose a time period in which to place...

Young scholars take on the persona of a sailor or a captain of a whaling vessel in New England in the 1800s and write five journal entries as that person.  In this Moby Dick lesson plan, students research the whaling industry...

Fifth graders read the preamble of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions. They discuss vocabulary definitions surrounding the concept of citizenship. They discuss and write about the rights and responsibilities of citizens and apply their...

Students form opinions about Gertrude by imaginatively creating 5 entries for Gertrude's journal. Each journal entry reveal much about Gertrude's character at pivotal moments in the play.

Students listen to the first couple chapters in the book, Missing May by Cynthia Rylant and then sketch or write about a character or the setting, using words and phrases from the book as guides. They then discuss the chapters using the...

Students investigate the virtue of kindness and giving by conducting a children's literature study of "The Giving Tree". They make a list of words to describe emotions in the story and write a journal daily while looking at the virtues...

Students examine 1930's America through literature. In this Dust Bowl activity, students read Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust and set up vocabulary journals and question bookmarks to log their thoughts and impressions as they read the novel.

Students create a few different endings to stories they are familiar with. In this writing lesson plan, students listen to the story, "The Giant Jam Sandwich," and see how a different ending changes the whole story. Each student chooses...

Students explore locating information on the Web. In groups, students research a variety of topics to determine the effectiveness of various search engines. Students write a review of their team's search engine.

Students explore themes of prejudice and acceptance. In this character education instructional activity, students listen and respond to several fiction books, poems, and lyrics with a similar theme. Students locate articles with the main...

Sixth graders explore the steps in decision making and responsibility. In this lesson, 6th graders analyze a scenario and decide what actions should be taken. Students write in their journals.

Seventh graders examine various stories that have a Cinderella theme.  In this Language Arts lesson, 7th graders compare and contrast stories.  Students write various journal assignments in regards to the stories. 

Fifth graders examine how to use a variety of word choices when writing. They discuss how using more descriptive words leads to a more varied word choice, watch a teacher-created PowerPoint presentation, and using a Thesaurus replace...

Students read a first person account of the bombing of Hiroshima written by a Japanese physician. By reading Michihiko Hachiya's journal, they discover the fatalities caused by the bomb itself and later by radiation poisoning. To...

Students write a description of their own life in the same style used in the first poem in Out of the Dust.  In this Out of the Dust lesson, students discuss open form poetry and how the spacing and line breaks create a flow to...

Students create lists about a topic that they choose to generate ideas for writing without worrying about grammar or punctuation. In this lists lesson plan, students first create a list about snow with their teacher.

Students investigate the cultures and politics of different countries and write radio letters to listeners in those countries modeled after Alistair Cooke's "Letter from America."

Third graders begin by either doing sentences for editing OR a gratitude journal. This is designed so students have a quiet activity which starts immediately at the beginning of class.

Students examine the reasons why some people do not support the protection of the wolf on the Endangered Species list. After reading an article, they discuss the controversy of delisting the wolves. As a class, they debate this issue...