If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...

Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...

Young scholars investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.

Expose the beautiful mystery of bulbs as young botanists learn all about these fascinating plants. They glean information from a short text before observing actual bulbs (consider an onion), and comparing their findings with predictions....

Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...

As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...

Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...

Young scholars explore botany by participating in a language arts activity. In this garden poetry lesson, students read the classic poem "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and discuss the imagery and rhyming methods used. Young scholars examine...

Rather than a lesson, this resource is a list of poetic forms and young poets are encouraged to try their hand at composing poems of various types.

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...

Embark on a year long investigation of the seasons with this 10-lesson earth science unit. After being introduced to different types of weather and the tools used to measure it, young scientists perform fun hands-on activities that...

Tenth graders are introduced to the poetic process. They onnect poetry to life in a meaningful way become more careful readers of poetry. They listen to a variety of poems, then write responses at the end of each adventure.

Learners examine how place in poetry helps give clues about character. In this poetry lesson, students read a poem while focusing on the descriptions of the room that is being described and predict what type of person would live there....

Transform your classroom into a fully functioning weather station with this series of hands-on investigations. Covering the topics of temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and cloud formation, these activities engage young...

Students examine different types of poetry in music, commercials and printed works. They identify themes of philanthropy in poetry as well. They finally share their findings with the class.

Students read about the four elements of poetry: form, theme, purpose, and mood. They are given several questions to ask themselves about each element as they begin to write their own successful poems.

Students create poems based on the Haiku form and research about WWII. Class discussion and classroom readings of student work finish this lesson. Emphasis is placed on Standards in the Arts.

First graders make daily observations about clouds, write in their cloud books, make cloud charts, and make a poem about clouds.

The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...

Young scholars identify clouds outdoors using a cloud chart and then draw the types they observe. They read the poem, "Fog" by Carl Sandburg and then compose their own cloud poem using various styles of poetry.

Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time. After reading a book on the topic of their...

Sixth graders explore philosophy by researching the Dalai Lama. In this Tibetan history lesson, 6th graders discuss the influence of Buddhism on the Dalai Lama and the unique view on life a Buddhist must have. Students read a Tibetan...

Students are introduced to the various types of dinosaurs and write in their journals about their favorite one. After listening to a story and watching a filmstrip, they color a few pages in their Dinosaur Friends Book. They also examine...