What makes heroes and villains? A six-part unit plan asks young scholars to explore the concept of heroism and the characteristics they consider heroic and unheroic. Groups create character maps that focus on how characters are shaped by...

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...

Students analyze geographic maps. In this map analysis lesson, students analyze the symbols in geographic maps and the impact of cultural, historical, and political concepts. Students compare and contrast maps in various mediums by...

Review selections from Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic and recognize characterization and tone used. Discuss and compare the various tones of each poem. Learners complete a character map and a pair share activity as well....

High schoolers research the characters of Hamlet.  In this Shakespearean literature lesson, students complete a pre-reading activity designed to improve their familiarity with the characters in the story.  In small groups, high...

Students identify and interpret the value of the dragonfly as a predator of the mosquito. They create their own folktales using the dragonfly or a creature of their choice to solve the malaria problem or another issue. Students also...

Students define the boundaries of their community by comparing the community's official boundaries with other historical, political, physical, and perceived boundaries of the area and create a community map.

Third graders read The Hundred Penny Box and complete comprehension activities. In these perspectives and letter writing lessons, 3rd graders read and discuss the story then complete a Venn Diagram to explore the different viewpoints in...

Students explore journals. In this Discovering the Journal of Augustus Pelletier instructional activity, students read the historical fiction book and conduct research activities to validate events in the plot that reflect the Lewis and...

Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...

Pupils use a graphic organizer create a character sketch of Trout Walker from the novel Holes. Using the provided worksheet, students fill in the important character traits of Trout. Worksheet and answer key are provided with the lesson.

Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson, 2nd graders act out familiar activities  by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....

Students use reading strategies for Night of the Twister. In this reading strategies lesson, students name five major catastrophes and books about each. Students complete a vocabulary section, make inferences and predictions, read the...

Students research and write about Christopher Columbus, his voyages, and his impact on the Native Americans. For this Christopher Columbus lesson, students work at stations where they learn vocabulary, perform Reader's Theatre, work with...

Students discover how writers put their feelings into language. They identify words of emotion and imagery and see their experience as an important base for language use and writing skills. They use colorful words when describing a...

Young scholars read various cartoons in their local newspaper and calculate the population demographics, spatial distribution and grouping of the characters. Using this information, they create a population distribution map and share...

Teach your class the perspective Native Americans had on Christopher Columbus. They will examine the effects of Christopher Columbus' exploration on the Native Americans using a reading theater and a carousel brainstorming activity. They...

"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...

Students identify characters, their qualities, and examples of their qualities and use Inspiration to organize them in a clear and understandable format. After a lecture/demo, students use the program on the next story by themselves.

Twelfth graders read a Shakespearean play focusing on a character. They create "Mind Maps" of their characters and act out a selection of the play.

While the preparation for this instructional activity is extensive, the results are well worth the effort. Prior to the instructional activity, Xerox the pictures from Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin, collect the...

Students examine the history of the Romanov family and the claims made by Anna Anderson. They watch and discuss the video, "Rasputin," complete a WebQuest, develop a Romanov family tree, write a petition and fact-finding paper, and...

Students critically examine the relationship of man and nature in Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat." students examine the third person point of view and conduct in-depth character analysis.

Students complete a variety of activities surrounding castle communities and fairy tales. They write a letter to a fairy tale character, write a fairy tale, create a model of a castle, and draw a map of a castle community.