Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
Curated OER
Phonics Lesson Plans Brought to Life With Music
Phonics lesson plans using music for kindergarten through first grade can make learning about letter sounds more fun.
Curated OER
Making a Rainstick
Young scholars construct a rainstick. In this music lesson, students investigate the history of the rainstick by reading the book Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. Young scholars express their feelings about the...
Curated OER
Learning the Beat
Learners identify gifts found in folktales. In this folktale lesson plan, students read the Hindi folktale "The Drum" and discuss the value of gifts such as time, talent, treasure, etc. Learners also create drum beats.
Curated OER
Mitten Lesson Plan
Learners compare The Mitten by Jan Brett to other versions of the same story, then create their own version. In this early childhood lesson plan, students create their own version of The Mitten, then use software to record a podcast. ...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Curated OER
Habari Gani: What is the News?
Display creative works of art after learning about Kwanzaa. Kindergartners hear stories about the history of Kwanzaa and its celebrations. They then create artwork, practice African dances and listen to African music.
Curated OER
Poetry for the Common Good
Learners identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. For this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Learners construct their own...
Curated OER
Generational Music Communities
Students focus on age-related generations to assess how traditional music is transmitted from one generation to another and how music functions for people within a generation. They compare/contrast and explore music in their own...
Curated OER
My Secret War: The WWII Diary of Madeline Beck: Lesson 11
Fifth graders explore world history by participating in a class game. In this propaganda lesson plan, 5th graders identify Madeline Beck and the role women played during World War II. Students create fictitious propaganda posters and...
Curated OER
Five Senses Lesson Plan
Students listen to The Brave Little Monster, by Ken Baker. In this five senses lesson plan, students identify the different senses that characters experience in the book they are listening to. They review the senses as a class with hands...
Pearson
Yellow Submarine
Here's a clever twist on a grammar lesson. Kids listen to the Beatles' happy children's song, "Yellow Submarine" and then identify the simple present and past tense verbs in the lyrics.
The New York Times
Super Brand
Children can recognize popular brands from an early age, but these images symbolize much more than what they advertise. Take a journey through the design of a logo with a lesson that focuses on the history and ubiquity of the Super Bowl...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Problem Solvers: Challenge Activities (Theme 4)
Creative activities help bring literature alive. The first of a set of lessons designed to accompany selections from Theme 4: Problem Solvers uses activities such as skits, responses to music, and social studies projects. These...
Curated OER
Can You Hear a Story?
Students listen to, analyze, and describe music. They explain relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
Curated OER
Scrambled Eggs Super!
Students study rhythm and rhyme. In this rhyming lesson, students read Scrambled Eggs Super! by Dr. Seuss. Students explore the rhythm of rhyming words found in the book. The students decorate eggs and place rhyming words inside to use...
Curated OER
Rock Around the Clock Math
An engaging and fun lesson on telling time is here for you. In it, young time-tellers listen to the song, "Rock Around the Clock," then use Judy Clocks to practice telling time to the hour and half hour. Finally, using paper plates, each...
Curated OER
Monet's Magical Garden
Students study classic paintings by masters like Monet. In this art history lesson, students listen to the story Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert and sing flower songs with the rest of their class. Students examine the painting The...
Curated OER
Those Fabulous Fables
A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...
Curated OER
He Said, She Said, So: What's the Point?
Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Upper graders and middle schoolers read the story The Three Little Pigs and other tales related to the story from various points of view. They use the Internet to find more stories from...
Curated OER
Who are My Sisters and Brothers?
Students explore religion by completing a cultural diversity activity. For this human compassion lesson, students identify all of "God's Children" as their sisters and brothers. Students read the book Frederick in class and listen to...
Curated OER
What is Timbre?
Learners analyze the differences in similar songs. For this music appreciation lesson, students discover the meaning of timbre and how it can drastically change similar pieces of music. Learners sing two pieces of music with the rest...
Curated OER
Telling Stories Through Dance
Examine the movement of characters in the story, Caps for Sale. Using the text, pupils invent gestures and movements for some of the actions and major events. They practice retelling a story by using the movements they developed. They...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
I Need a Superhero
Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey focusing...