Get learners excited about reading with literature circles! Small groups discuss the day's reading in various roles, including Discussion Director, Summarizer, Word Wizard, Literary Luminary, Travel Tracer, Connector, and Fact Finder,...

Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a lesson on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary source...

A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...

As the days get shorter and a chill enters the air, it's time to start teaching your little ones about the wondrous winter season. Through a series of teacher demonstrations, whole-class read alouds and discussions, and hands-on...

Students read "The Odyssey" and "The Morte Darthur". In groups, they research the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology and the history of the places mentioned in the stories. Individually, they are to write a paper about a hero they...

Help learners construct relationships between written narratives and book illustrations, and between the narratives in formal visual art and the subject of the visual art. Look at Caldecott winning books and focus on the pictures drawn....

Keeping readers focused during literature discussion circles can sometimes be a challenge. Check out this worksheet that ensures accountability by establishing six very specific, very different roles for group members: facilitator,...

Young scholars begin the lesson plan by discussing the causes and effects of the movement west. Using primary sources, they develop their own definition for manifest destiny. In groups, they view examples of paintings and read poems on...

Students inquire about the Holocaust. In this Holocaust lesson, students read books and discuss their thoughts. Students also collect current event articles from newspapers. Students investigate ghettos, Pearl Harbor and Navajo Code...

Take the next step in the writing process with a lesson plan geared towards the completion of writing an evidence-based essay about a rule to live by, as Bud did in Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Pupils collaborate with their...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

Involve your readers in finding works of literary genius. Have each individual write down compelling sentences that they read or hear, whether in a newspaper, advertisement, book, movie, song, or any other place! Once each person has a...

Students read the story "The Last Seventeen Years". Using the story, they identify cultural clues about the country of Korea. In groups, they complete a Venn diagram comparing Korean and United States culture. They use the internet to...

Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...

Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Upper graders and middle schoolers read the story The Three Little Pigs and other tales related to the story from various points of view. They use the Internet to find more stories...

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Students begin reading the graphic novel "Maus". Using the Internet, they discover fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity. Using excerpts from the novel, they identify animal metaphors used for nationalities and ethnic...

Young scholars read The Complete Maus to explore how Maus is actually three books in one. In groups, they evaluate the book as a tale of surviving the Holocaust and a tale of impacting future generations. They examine the conditions at...

Students develop problem solving, decision-making and inquiry skills by planning experiments. They conduct systematic observations, interpret and analyze data and draw conclusions then communicate their results.

Students read the novel, "Night" by Elie Wiesel. Using excerpts from the novel, they complete a performance and literary technique objective. In groups, they finish handouts to give them more information on the Holocaust. They compare...

Students read accounts of children during the Holocaust and read Elie Wiesel's "Night". Using the internet, they share ideas and discuss topics with peers across the nation. They examine the role of the individual in the Holocaust and...

Students read information on the importance of literacy and complete a worksheet. In this community service instructional activity, students evaluate children's literature and practice reading fluency. Students spend two hours per week...

Think like an engineer and an agricultural scientist over the course of 12 lessons in a STEM based unit. Young scientists take on the roles of animal physiologists, animal geneticists, agricultural engineers, animal nutritionists,...

What does a philanthropist do? Help your class explore philanthropy using character development and literacy ideas. Learners will define and give examples of philanthropy, listen to The Lion and the Mouse, discuss how the characters help...