Put scholars in charge of their learning! Individuals read information, discuss what they learned, and put their new knowledge into practice—all in a complete and detailed resource. Activities include creating a literary terms handbook...

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...

Engage your class in art analysis of Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie. Using this work of art as inspiration, writers compose a poem or short story. After a peer review session, the teacher conveys information about the work of art as...

Middle schoolers investigate writing techniques by analyzing 2 stories written by Edgar Allen Poe.  In this language arts lesson, students choose two Edgar Allen Poe short stories to read and take notes on the setting, theme,...

"Plot the plot" of "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" with your young readers. Take a few days to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as a class or in pairs, having learners write down what they consider to be the most important...

Explore language arts by completing a story worksheet in class. Readers will identify the importance of plot, setting, and character while they write their own short story. They also retell their story to a classmate and participate in a...

Fifth through eighth graders engage in a lesson in which they study working class people during the Great Depression. They work to develop an understanding of the economic developments in Arkansas during the 1930's. Learners access...

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...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...

Help young readers learn to read and interpret complex text independently. Teach young children to ask interpretive questions and use the text itself to answer them. Use art, word play and drama to provide a deeper understanding of...

Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...

Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...

Eighth graders explore manners by writing short stories. In this chivalry code lesson, 8th graders identify the traits of chivalry and explore the history of chivalry in England. Students complete a chivalry worksheet and write a...

Students spend the lesson identifying the location of the fifty states and the capitals. Using a software program, they retrace te outline of each state numerous times. To end the lesson, they write a story about a state and city of...

Students compare 19th Century short stories to 20th Century sitcoms. They address seven questions as the watch a sitcom for homework and create a web to use for further comparison.

What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based lesson starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats. Then, they design...

Students discuss the importance of trees, and characteristics of trees. They imagine themselves with their favorite tree. And discuss their imagery; the different trees, time of day, and location of trees. Student write a short story...

Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...

Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...

Young scholars explore business practices by creating a portfolio in class. In this business writing lesson plan, students identify the causes for a businesses success and failure before deciding on a business they would like to create....

Students in a Spanish class are introduced to the techniques of creative writing. In groups, they focus on the pre-writing section of creative writing and keep a folder of their works throughout the lesson. They end the lessons by...

Students test their memory recall and discuss its association to color. After reading an article, they discuss the natural and psycho-sociological significance of the color red. As a class, they participate in a mood-color association...

Students explore how insects behave in their natural habitats and build dioramas to create an Insect World in their classroom. They investigate various insects and the roles they play in the environment. They write creative short...