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...

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...

Teach kids how to watch television, specifically the news, with this creative idea for learners of all ages from the Media Awareness Network. The elementary school plan focuses on presenting news as a story and uses Jon Scieszka's story...

Whodunnit? Find out who killed Mr. Brooks through a logical examination of evidence. Class members fill out a couple of data tables to help them pin down the suspect. After they've figured out just who the culprit is, pupils compose...

What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...

Students explore language arts by creating their own stories in class. In this book making lesson, students read the story City Pig in class and create storyboard illustrations in order to analyze the story. Students utilize these...

First graders listen to traditional and nontraditional Cinderella stories and watch a video entitled "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters." Individually, children draw and illustrate the stories they have heard, create a story sequence, and...

Students order their classmates from smallest to largest foot length.  In this ordering their classmates from smallest to largest foot length instructional activity, students trace each of their classmates foot.  Students read...

First graders explore U.S. geography by researching food production. In this agriculture lesson, 1st graders identify the process of crops from a seed to a plate and discuss the importance of farmers in the production of such crops....

Second graders describe the sequence of events in the life cycles of a butterfly, frog, and a deer. They observe the differences and similarities of parents and babies. They also discover that at different stages the animals can be...

Upper graders read the book Holes as a class or by themselves. In groups, they identify symbols and discuss how they are connected  among the many plots in the story. They create a timeline in which they sequence the main...

Students are read the books "Tanya's Reunion' and "Christina Katrina". As a class, they recall events of the stories in the correct sequence. They discuss the traditions they have within their own families and are introduced to the...

Students explore personal stories by investigating narrative writing. In this nonfiction writing lesson, students participate in a workshop in which they write three events from their own life. Students write first drafts of these...

Young scholars read "How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World", the story of a girl who traveled the world to find the ingredients to make her apple pie. They conduct a series of interdisciplinary activities including testing their...

Upper graders explore equality by writing an essay. They read the story Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, and discuss the meaning of the story and its relevance to Civil War events. Learners investigate the five writing process steps and...

Help learners discover more about their backgrounds. This family history activity includes links to sites about heraldry and family names. Begin by sharing your family history with the class and then allow students to do some internet...

First graders, while in the computer lab, manipulate events onto a calendar created in Publisher and then create a time line of important dates. They place their important dates in the correct month on a calendar and then sequence the...

Students use position words to describe where their teacher is sitting and read a story that makes use of position words. In this spatial lesson, students make a stick puppet and play Simon Says focusing on using position words in the...

Third graders explore language arts by answering study questions about a book they read. In this reading summary lesson plan, 3rd graders read the book Verdi by Janell Cannon and identify the plot, characters and sequence of the story....

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...

Students read The Empty Pot as an introduction to plants. In this planting lesson plan, students understand a sequence of events in the book and relate it to the sequence of a plants life. Students grow plants and record information in...

Students examine the history of the Holocaust through literature. Using different pieces of literature, they critique the items in terms of being historical accurate and its value in telling the stories of the Holocaust. They create a...

Students are introduced to genetics along with genetic diseases and heredity. In groups, they complete a Punnett Square to determine the dominant and recessive genes. After viewing diagrams, they identify the characteristics of DNA and...

Students complete activities about the story "Diary of a Worm", by Doreen Cronin. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, students make predictions and apply prior knowledge about the topic of the story. They actively listen as the...