Help your young writers recognize the importance of composing formal letters. Middle schoolers read letters written by Thomas Jefferson and analyze the components that make it a formal letter.  They will then compose their own...

Who is Aimee Mann? Read the New York Times article "P.S. I Loved You," included here, and have your readers answer a series of reading comprehension questions. Afterward, encourage your class to brainstorm ways in which they...

Tenth graders define the term slang, explaining its various social, historical, and racial contexts, so as to articulate when it can be appropriately used as a means of effective communication. They use their own personal slang lexicon,...

What a great lesson, upper graders are sure to love. They explore costume design and the relationships between theatre, culture, and history. They research three time periods, write a response about two of them, then create a composit...

Middle schoolers analyze and critique theater events by evaluating and constructing meanings from improvised and scripted scenes and from theater, film, television, and electronic media productions.

Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...

Why is Apple suing Samsung? Give your English language learners a bit of reading comprehension practice. First, they read the short passage provided, and then they complete 10 activities. There are true or false questions, matching...

The basic structure of a useful lesson in formal letter writing is here, but there are no procedural details or support materials to implement it. However, the idea is worth pursuing, to help your learners develop a strong understanding...

Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson plan on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese...

Students investigate the broad range of jobs that can be found in the world of design. Students explore sound design, language architecture, etc. Students design a resource book and post it on a website for others to share.

Students create original costumes and make-up for a puppet presentation of a scene from Shakespeare in this week long creative project. Performances of the Shakespeare scenes end this lesson geared towards state and national standards...

Students write a business letter. In this factual writing instructional activity, students complete an online activity. Groups also draft a reply to a complaint letter. A worksheet is included for extra practice.

Students brainstorm in preparation for writing an expressive essay. They review their responses to 'Writing from Experience' and write notes and brainstorm other ideas or details for their essays. They take turns illustrating their life...

Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...

Students rewrite the ending of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.  For this Of Mice and Men lesson, students enter a fictitious contest in which they compose a new ending for Of Mice and Men in which Lennie is not killed.  The...

How are raptors and airplanes alike? Combine science and language arts in this fun and interactive project. Young scientists research the animal in order to design their own aircraft, and compete in a contest for farthest, fastest, and...

Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.

Students practice looking skills as they reflect upon the differences between viewing original works of art and reproductions. In this art viewing lesson, students interpret a work of art using formal analysis and research done for...

Students use the methods of description, reflection, and formal analysis for a study of images. For this image analysis lesson, students work in teams to interpret and analyze an assigned work of art. Students write responses to the work...

Students work together to create a bulletin board display for their classroom which is a Job Resource Center containing information and ideas for job search.

Fifth graders investigate bullying and nonviolent ways to deal with bullies.  In this conflict management lesson, 5th graders discover the definition for the word ahimsa and examine ways to incorporate that philosophy into their...

Students research the history of paper money using the Internet in order to answer questions and create their own bills.

Students present a pod cast. In this information technology lesson, students determine the vital components to an informative and entertaining pod cast. Students discuss the purpose of a pod cast. Students write, rehearse and record a...

Fifth graders write a paragraph titled "All About Me" in the computer lab after they have drawn graphic organizers to fill in background information about themselves and used a "10-Point Writing Checklist" to do peer editing.