Practice expository and creative writing with your class. Pupils use magazines to find pictures, cut them out, and create a collage. This work of art is then used as a writing prompt. They describe the collage in either a creative or...

Young scholars examine a piece of art to find objects and symbols used by the artist. In this visual art lesson, students look at Jaun Quick-to-See Smith's, "Trade Canoe for Don Quixote." They look for symbols and items that show the...

Poems carved into the wooden walls of the Asian immigrant prisons on Angel Island provide upper elementary graders an opportunity to study not only the story behind the poems but to also focus on the figurative language employed by the...

Budding poets create two acrostic poems, one for their name and another using a word of their choice. Over the course of five days, scholars compose, revise, publish, and share their work with their peers.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," is a popular phrase in our society. The lesson plan here puts the phrase to the test as pupils explore what truly is beautiful through a study of some Japanese folk art. A careful examination of...

Explore poetry, personification, and multiple languages with a poetry reading and writing lesson. After the teacher reads the poem to the class, a discussion about personification follows. The class then writes a collaborative poem...

Some smells are better than others! Explore your sense of smell with a series of activities based on the Peruvian folktale, The Stolen Smell. With exercises about phonics, counting, cooking, art, and drama, the lesson is a...

Young historians take a look at how the Indian tribes of California promoted a mindful relationship between people and the land. They begin to understand how the Indians were champions of conservation, and at preserving the natural...

Even though this is technically an art lesson, haiku poetry is actually the main focus! Learners view photographs of Japanese tea caddies. They list five descriptive words for the caddies, then write haiku poems using the caddies as...

Why does an author write an informative article? Learners examine passages of a short reading on Spain and determine what the author wanted to inform the reader about.

Using correct grammar is a capital idea! Elementary readers review the rules of capitalization, including proper nouns, abbreviations of organizations, and holidays, before correcting the errors in two sets of sentences.  

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Writers compose an original found poem by searching for words that inspire them. Words are taken from everyday conversation, books, cut from magazines, the mail, or an already written poem. 

It can be awfully hard teaching young children how to read, but this phonics resource will make the job a little easier. Focusing on the au and aw vowel digraphs, this collection of engaging activities teaches beginning...

Interrogatives—who, what, where, when, why, and how—are the focus of a grammar activity that reinforces writing questions and using auxiliary verbs. 

Fill in the blanks with a Cloze activity based on Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. After listening to a passage read out loud, kids complete the worksheet by using their memories and context clues.

Here is a great way to bring core content to your special education classroom. Included is a set of instructional ideas intended to help learners increase their verbal and written expression through storytelling. Tape recorders, story...

Determine where an article should appear in a sentence with a grammar activity. Individuals read ten sentences and place the, a, or an in the space provided, or note that no article is needed.

Put the fun back in reading fundamentals with an interactive set of lessons about homophones. Learners of all ages explore the relationships between words that sound the same but have different meanings, and complete a...

Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...

Celebrate sean-nós, céilí, and the lilting music of the Emerald Isle with a set of language arts activities! Learners complete word puzzles, vocabulary exercises, and comprehension questions about traditional Irish music.

Keep the art of letter writing alive in this age of Tweet and Twitter! The 10 activities detailed in this resource lead pupils through the process of crafting classic forms. A list of and links to famous letters is also included as part...

Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five...