Give this skills-based assessment halfway through your unit on Esperanza Rising. After a brief review, class members take the test, which asks them to show that they know how to analyze the novel independently. They are asked to...

In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...

Students respond to works of art. In this art interpretation instructional activity, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and...

Students investigate and develop relationships between selected themes and resources. In this Us history activity, students interpret, analyze, and evaluate shifts in continuity throughout US history. Students will create ...

Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...

"Plot the plot" of "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" with your young readers. Take a few days to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as a class or in pairs, having learners write down what they consider to be the most important...

Students investigate writing techniques by analyzing 2 stories written by Edgar Allen Poe.  In this language arts lesson, students choose two Edgar Allen Poe short stories to read and take notes on the setting, theme, characters and...

Students identify how the literary elements of theme, point of view, characterization, setting, and plot illustrate the effects of a certain disease on a community. They identify the aspects of the book that are specific to the...

Students discuss President Bush's goals for his second term in office. After reading an article, they identify the major themes of his second inaugural address. In groups, they brainstorm ideas and create murals to illustrate them...

Students examine and draw conclusions from an excerpt from a slave narrative. They analyze excerpts from two recently discovered slave narratives. They draw connections among the narrative excerpts and historical texts by investigating...

Pupils explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. In this fiction writing lesson, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with the story and...

Do not overlook this set of lessons just because your school does not have a data analysis system. There is plenty of material here to administer a complete mini unit on the formation, distribution, and properties of coal. Since it...

Fifth graders create a HyperStudio book report after reading a novel. They work in pairs or small groups to design a HyperStudio stack about a previously-read novel. They use a variety of graphic organizers to have Students gather...

When your class members have completed the novel Esperanza Rising, they will be ready to write an expository essay on how Esperanza responds to events and what this says about her character. Set your pupils up for success by...

Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...

Students investigate the 1968 Olympics by identifying their mascots.  For this Olympic history lesson, students participate in a group activity where they match countries with their representative mascots.  Students analyze the...

Students identify, compare, and analyze shapes and numbers. In this analogies and comparison math lesson, students warm up by completing 4 worksheets to familiarize themselves with analogies. In small groups, students are challenged to...

Students comprehend how the use of color impacts a work of art. They research how a theme can be rendered in a variety of ways (words, music, visuals). Students analyze how an artist's choices affect the aesthetic quality of artwork.

Students work in groups to research and examine Constitutions from various countries. In this government and public interests instructional activity, students analyze primary and secondary documents to make a comparison between...

Students understand the process of recycling. They investigate how it improves the environment. They read the story "Don't Pollute" by Stan and Jan Berenstein. They analyze trash and sort it into bins.

Seventh graders examine force and motion. In this seventh grade mathematics/science lesson, 7th graders collect and analyze data regarding the use of an atlatl to throw a spear. Students describe and analyze the motion which leads to the...

Students complete a unit on fossils. They read and discuss informational handouts, define key vocabulary terms, answer discussion questions, create a geologic timeline and a timeline of their own life, analyze bones, and create a fossil...

Fifth graders investigate various forms of energy. They compare potential and kinetic energy at different points during the period of a pendulum, design an apparatus that displays potential and kinetic energy, and analyze the advantages...

Students continue to read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. In groups, they analyze the different metaphysical aspects of the ring and discuss the characters use of power in the story. As a class, they examine Frodo's reasoning for wanting...