Whether new to teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or an experienced pro, you’ll find useful resources in this teacher’s guide. The 40-page packet includes background information, historical context, an annotated list of...

The book, A Week in the Woods is the focus of the very interesting language arts instructional activity presented here. After the book has been read, learners engage in study of certain parts of the book in order to gain a better...

Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...

Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...

Students closely examine chamber music as it has changed from the Middle Ages to today. They work in small groups to research the composers, instruments and typical presentation in 5 time periods. They write biographies and share their...

Here is a lesson that expands on a classic teaching idea. Learners are encouraged to think of a skill they possess, or something cool they can do that can be taught to their classmates. Once the skills are identified, each student...

Utilizing the classic Magic School Bus series, young scientists explore the solar system. Some excellent worksheets are included in this plan, such as Planet Roll Call and Solar System in Motion. This is an ambitious 5-day unit that...

Learners read and discuss several Pourquoi tales--legends that explain why certain natural events occur. They complete a variety of activities surrounding each tale and then write their own Pourquoi tale.

Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...

Learners compare and contrast a classic fairy tale with a fractured one. They write an advertisement that would entice a witch and a resume for a frog prince who is hiring. They publish their completed work.

The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...

Learn about different holidays, including Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, La Posada, by listening to stories. After reading about each holiday, they participate in a discussion and complete a fun activity.

Here is a one-stop planning resource for Louis Sachar's Newbery Award-winning book Holes. You'll find 21 links to worksheets and various activities designed to span the entire book. Learners draw to help analyze settings and...

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ..." Gilligan's Island is a classic that spans generations and offers a problem-solving opportunity for scholars. Take a project-based learning approach to examine the population of the island....

Students reflect on their favorite childhood toys and assess their continued appeal. They work in pairs to redesign classic toys and create posters to represent their new models.

Here is a good version of this classic chemistry activity. Learners are given a simple recipe for how to make home-made ice cream by putting all of the ingredients into a ziploc bag. Before doing the activity, I would recommend having a...

A quintessential resource for teaching an elementary unit on the first Thanksgiving addresses a variety of skills, including informational reading, critical thinking, comparing and contrasting facts, technology tools, and historical...

Here is an inventive, and educationally rich way to conduct a literature study of the book, The Midwife's Apprentice. After the book has been read, learners get into three groups. One group is assigned the task of being the writers....

Beyond Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, tall tales can be a great way to teach young writers about word choice and voice in their writing. Using Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee  and the Six-Trait Writing process, they begin to write...

Students name classic and contemporary American poets. They explain one poetry idea in classic or contemporary poem. They explain poetry idea at work in their own poems.

Students practice interviewing and answering questions by creating a mock talk show.  In this communications activity, students view a classic clip of an older T.V. talk show and plan an outline of material for their own talk show....

High schoolers make connection between music and art. In this integrated arts lesson, students complete gesture drawing activities as they listen to Cuban, flamenco, classical, jazz, and contemporary music. 

Students create CD covers from their music-inspired drawing sessions. They compare what they drew while listening to classical, punk and rap music. They scan their drawings into Adobe Photoshop and design their cover.

Students engage in a lesson which features a video trip to the Caribbean Island of Montserrat to teach about the human and physical characteristics of place and human/environmental interactions between the two. Students create their own...