Students explore storytelling by participating in an image analysis activity. In this story structure activity, students read the book Cookie's Week by Tomie dePaola and retell the story to their teacher in sequential order. Students...

Students explore language arts by reading a classic children's story in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the Judith Viorst book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Students discuss the...

Students explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective...

Kindergartners identify where a story takes place. In this literature lesson, learners take a picture walk and discuss how pictures can provide clues to the location of the story. They then illustrate where a new story of their own takes...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...

Middle schoolers are introduced to the structure of folk tales. After working through an example, they identify as many folk tales as possible that follow the same pattern. In groups, they compare a folk tale and a fairy tale to...

Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition lesson, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In addition, students...

First graders identify text that uses sequence or other logical order. They identify and interpret how different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different...

Seventh graders explore the history of Christmas by researching classic literature. In this holiday activity, 7th graders read the story A Christmas Carol and discuss the tone of Charles Dickens' classic literary work. Students answer...

Students read a Tonolese folktale and outline the elements of the story. In groups, they discuss the various morals presented in the story and if they are unique to the Tonolese culture. To end the instructional activity, they identify...

Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...

Students examine the use of the Hindu Kush mountains by explorers and traders. Using Afghanistan as an example, they research how different events can effect human settlerment patterns. They discuss how the physical characteristics of...

Students read a Japanese Noh play and discuss its structure and traditional characters. They choose a short myth and write a Noh play based on it.

Students watch various interpretations of Shakespeare's Macbeth in film. In groups, they examine the setting, characters, music and sequence. They compare and contrast the various films and discuss the differences. They write an essay on...

Students explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. For this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Students identify what the term...

Introduce your class to the techniques of proper writing. In groups, they brainstorm their ideas on family structures and discuss the importance of having a male figure in their lives. After listening to an African-American poem, they...

Learners learn the basic elements of blues and different lyric structures.

Students participate in an experiment that involves plant classification. They identify and are able to employ three methods of classifying leaves. Each student classifies leaves by each of the following methods: K-I 4.b, d, & e;...

Second graders investigate realistic fiction, holiday celebrations, making tally charts. In this multi-disciplinary lesson, 2nd graders listen to a story about Thanksgiving and one about the Chinese New Year to develop an understanding...

Students use three different pieces of art and identify the power struggles that are being represented. In groups, they use the Internet to research the distribution of wealth throughout Canada during the Victorian time period. They...

students research blood's components, and use their math skills to recreate a model of whole blood using commonly found food items.

Pupils explore the interdependency between humans and the ecosystems. They examine how uncontrolled development threatens the rain forests. They discuss how human actions affect the rain forest.