The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...

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...

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

Explore narrative writing by participating in a role-playing activity. In this perspective lesson, learners define first and third person in writing and discuss how it changes the mood of the reader. The first activity has pupils write...

How are raptors and airplanes alike? Combine science and language arts in this fun and interactive project. Young scientists research the animal in order to design their own aircraft, and compete in a contest for farthest, fastest, and...

A terrific series of four lessons helps high schoolers to explore what it means to be Canadian. They examine images, engage in writing activities, create pieces of art, and see how pieces of art can become symbols of a nation's identity....

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...

Students analyze a piece of writing by creating diary entries based on a character.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students read an assigned book with their classmates and create a sketch of what they believe the main...

Fourth graders create the illustrations for their contrbutions for the class book. The students create a tough sketch on a plain piece of paper. Once the students have a plan they begin illustrating their page, using any materials...

Students explore biology by writing animal poetry in class. For this animal characteristics lesson, students research the Internet for facts about an "ugly" animal such as a bug or small critter. Students complete worksheets about animal...

Can you imagine living in a totalitarian country? Learners will read several primary source memoirs to gain a deeper understanding of what life is like under a controlled government. They'll discuss each piece in pairs, research...

Students explore a content area by reading both fiction and nonfiction texts on the topic. They do more research online about the topic. After comparing the texts, they create their own written original work, using both narrative and...

Seventh graders brainstorm about problems with a school track. They research different possibilities for a solution. They test different track materials with erosion, durability, abrasiveness and resiliency. They determine the area,...

Third graders investigate how manduca sees and they discuss what they think the manduca might be thinking. They write a story about what an insect sees and does from the insect's perspective.

First graders explore characteristics of ladybugs. They view ladybugs in ventilated containers and discuss their observations. Students read a story about ladybugs and create a glue picture of a ladybug.

Young scholars examine the effect of music on society. While listening to music, they identify the beat, rhythm and write down their reaction to it. Listening to longer selections, they assign a color to the music and share it with the...

Students read different pieces of literature and practice using narrative reading strategies to gain meaning. They use conflict resolution techniques found in literature and apply it to a real world situation. They discover how important...

Students practice their writing skills by creating a character sketch of themselves. After viewing portraits, they select one personality trait and put their own picture into the painting of their choice. They include a conversation with...

Students examine the importance of recycling to help the environment. In groups, they make a compost bin on the school grounds recording how the material changes from week to week. They collect other materials for recycling like cell...

Students investigate how levers help to lift heavy loads. They view and discuss examples of levers, explore various websites, experiment with the levers brought to the class, and watch the video for the book "Mike Mulligan and His Steam...

Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know.  In this Monarch Butterfly lesson,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly. Students gather...

Students discover how clouds form. They use the internet to read about the formation of clouds. They work together in groups to create their own clouds. They identify and label the four cloud types.