In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a instructional activity that encourages pupils to discover and...

Students write an essay comparing and contrasting their school experiences. Through guided practice, they create an outline of their elementary school experience and middle school experience. Using their outlines, students synthesize...

Students are introduced to the nervous system. In groups, they research the relationship between disease and injury and how it affects the nervous system. To end the lesson, they present their findings to the class and create a poster.

Students explore how skills can improve through practice and awareness, using a reaction-time activity that focuses on both visual and auditory responsiveness.

Second graders research Ancient Greece. In this Ancient Greece lesson, 2nd graders survey the geographical, historical, and cultural aspects of Greece. Students discover stories of Greek mythology and explore the beginning of the Olympic...

High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...

Students practice identifying and creating examples of characterization based on comprehension. They assess direct and indirect characterization and use conflict in a plot to generate a piece of writing. Each student selects accurate...

Students investigate and identify the continents of the world. They identify and locate the seven continents on a map, and label a coloring page of a world map. Students then conduct research on an assigned continent, and write and...

Students explore Canadian maps. For this map skills and Canadian history lesson, students locate reserves that originated from treaties made while establishing the Saskatchewan First Nation reserve communities. Students research these...

Students observe the life cycle of a butterfly. They read butterfly/caterpillar themed books. They sequence the lifecycle from eggs on a leaf to an adult butterfly. They release their butterflies into a natural habitat after singing and...

Seventh graders explore how influential people have taken a stand on difficult issues and the consequences that followed. This instructional activity connect American studens with students in England who present their own person for...

Young readers explore consonant sounds. In this beginning phonics instructional activity, learners fill in a beginning/middle/end vertical column chart with the sounds they hear in the pictured object. Practice spelling CVC words.

First graders explore farming by illustrating images. In this livestock lesson, 1st graders discuss what types of plants are used to feed livestock animals and how pets and humans eat the livestock animals. Students draw images of what...

Students discover how storytelling can shape a person's tradition.Students examine different methods of storytelling such as music, biographies, and African folktales. They then demonstrate their knowledge of storytelling by writing...

Students investigate the dramatic elements of a Streetcar Named Desire. In this drama lesson, students explore the theme of the Tennessee Williams play as they read the play and watch performances of some of the acts. Students then write...

"Scientist Stereotypes" could be another name for this activity! Begin by drawing from middle schoolers' preconceived notions and media portrayal of scientists, and then explain that anyone can be a scientist. Even though there is an...

To launch a study of civil rights, class members brainstorm rules and expectations of behaviors at home, in school, in the workplace, and in sports. They then look at civil rights cases and examine the rules embedded in these cases. 

Students examine the characterisitics of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. They discuss what they think is on Titan and what the Huygens probe can tell them about the moon. They write a summary about the information they gathered during...

Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech provides the text for a study of how to analyze a speaker’s content, delivery and attitude. Visual learners identify specific lines that reveal King’s purpose and point of view while...

Students investigate the hardships related to pioneer life and the Wagon Train. They listen to an excerpt from the book "Little House on the Prairie," and discuss the hardships faced by pioneers travelling west. In small groups...

Students engage in a lesson plan that uses sight word strategies in order to increase reading comprehension. The skills are applicable to rote skill, math facts, formulas, etc... The lesson plan includes sample exercises for the teacher...

Students define and interpret the elements found in a short story. Then they identify the elements of plot found in a short story. Students also apply knowledge of plot to an original work of fiction. Finally, they identify the...

First graders engage in a study of phonics that focuses on the beginning sounds with an emphasis upon varying types of genres that includes songs, speech, and poetry. They recognize the beginning sounds of words and make physical...