Explore the elements of science fiction. Students investigate the literary elements present in science fiction and write their own science fiction stories.

Students use video and the Internet to make predictions, draw conclusions, determine conflict and point of view while reading a short story. In this short story analysis lesson, students watch a related video and complete a prediction...

Students examine historical fiction as historical sources. In this historical fiction lesson, students analyze excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the...

Students research literary elements of fables. In this literature lesson, students analyze literary elements of fables. Students work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.

Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...

Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...

Seventh graders compare and contrast sedentary and nomadic tribe life. In this Native American culture lesson, 7th graders research primary documents about the Osage and Kiowa tribes. Students create a series of illustrations to be...

Students research an animal used in fables. For this lesson on nonfiction texts, students use the Internet to find information about an animal to help them complete a Research Response Sheet.

Ninth graders identify and recognize characteristics of nonfiction in literary works, explore language and culture of Gullah people, compare and contrast purposes of spirituals and quilts in terms of their relationships to escape from...

Students research future astronomy endeavors and how the exploration with contribute to astronomy and humanity. In this astronomy lesson plan, students research, present, and debate the topics as a class.

Fifth graders read a book addressing a specific historical time period that was chosen by their working group. They complete journal entries as they read the book. They create a group PowerPoint explaining the personal point of view and...

Seventh graders examine words of Greek origin and discuss character development in fiction. They read a list of Greek word parts and create words on a worksheet. Students then read and discuss an informational handout about character...

Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...

Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...

Students investigate the expectations and limitations placed on Victorian women and evaluate Charlotte Bronte's position and desire for literary achievement in using the male pseudonym, Currer Bell.

Fourth graders generate written summaries from non-fiction articles.  In this writing lesson, 4th graders determine what must be included in writing a good summary and then work in small groups to construct summaries after reading...

What is a signal word? Recognizing these words is an important step in both reading and writing formal text. Review a list of signal words (provided and organized into specific categories), and then have your class play a game to...

Students explore human migration, refugees and human rights. They read articles about immigration, create a migration journal, and participate in a mock human rights commission meeting. After collecting information about immigration,...

Students explore the concept of big, bigger, and biggest. They examine and classify items by size, listen to and discuss the book "A Pig is Big," complete a fill in the blank activity, and create a tri-fold that illustrates two items...

While the ideas for Ancient Greek research are solid, there is little detail to help make your job easier. The focus here is familiarizing your class with online databases and print resources in their school library. After direct...

Students study hurricanes and their patterns. In this hurricane lesson, students watch a video clip tracing Hurricane's Ivan's path in Alabama. Students discuss hurricanes and watch a 3-D video of Hurricane Ivan. Students visit a website...

Fifth graders preview different poetry selections form different poets to narrow their criteria for a favorite poem. They use the web and written sources to find a favorite poem and then give an oral interpretation of their poem in class...

Students read and prepare a new oral version of a selected fairy tale. They read and compare/contrast two fairy tales and identify the main story elements. In small groups they create a new oral version of one they fairy tales and...

Students study biography from the 19th century. They read "The Red Badge of Courage." Students research a topic from the list provided in the instructional activity and write a 5-7 page paper. They study lyrics and melodies of the...