Scholars examine the strategy of making a story map or outline to identify the main elements of a story. They discuss the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a story, in an outline form. As a class they read a short story, answer the...

Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...

Second graders discuss important things to know when reading stories, identify setting in variety of stories, create story map to record information as they are reading, state setting in their own words, discuss whether they thought...

Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...

Students study the topic of peace and use brainstorming techniques to create a clustering diagram. In this peace brainstorming activity, students organize brainstorming material to complete a writing assignment. Students create...

Students use printed maps and websites to estimate driving distances and plan routes to Hemingway's home. They visit several locations online and record facts about each location.They calculate, distances, driving time, and other factors.

Students read the story "The Adventure of the Negative Clue" and design an Alice World for the story's setting. In this reading analysis lesson, students read the story and complete a story map. Students use the Alice program to design...

Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing instructional activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The instructional activity...

Young scholars are read the story "Gingerbread Baby". They create a mold of a gingerbread out of paper. They decorate one side of the paper and write their own story on the back.

Young scholars 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...

Show your young researchers how to find information, brainstorm a topic, map or outline their own stories, and create rough drafts. This lesson also shows learners how to peer edit, conference with the teacher, and write their final...

Twelfth graders examine the elements of literature. They each read a chapter of a novel, sequentially list the main ideas, present a summary of the chapter to the class, sequence the events, and review the novel by summarizing the timeline.

Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Pupils examine the ways in which a work of art represents the culture or lifestyle of people living in a state. They analyze the back of the Iowa quarter and discuss how art reflects the time period in which it was created.

Students read books by Michael Arvaaluck Kusugak to explore life in the Artic Circle. After reading the books, students compare and contrast life in the Artic Circle to life in the United States. They write and illustrate a story about...

Students analyze a photo essay of the Spanish-Speaking People of Texas by the photojournalist Russell Lee. They identify the goals of the photo essay, explore a website, and complete a worksheet.

Eighth graders find a current event related to the Middle East. In this current event lesson students write a brief summary of a new story related to the Middle East. They give their opinion and tell how it affects their life or who it...

Students read orally two versions of Little Red Riding Hood (Classic and Cajun) They compare and contrast the two Little Red Riding Hood versions. Students create a concept map to demonstrate the comparisons/contrasts. They could also...

Students read Number the Stars. In this social studies lesson, students read the story and use a map of western Europe and identify the countries involved in the war. Students locate the cities of Denmark that are discussed in the story.

Students list and describe the six simple machines. They create a Thinking Map and outline using Kidspiration and create a paper on the importance of simple machines using Microsoft Word.

Fifth graders explore the positive and negative consequences of choosing to fight against discrimination. They read the story of Rosa Parks. Students discuss the movement against segregation. Students read other books about...

Eleventh graders work in groups to choose a project/presentation from a list of approved activities to develop. They select and use appropriate software for organizing and refining their product. Groups produce a short...

Young scholars practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.

Young scholars construct a three-dimensional model of a biome which illustrates the various biotic and abiotic factors unique to that biome. They use everday materials to represent the important characteristics of a particular biome and...