Build vocabulary and get in the Halloween sprit with a collection of festive activities! Here, scholars take part in a holiday celebration, unearth the unknown in mystery feel-boxes, and create monster masks out of paper plates. 

From seed to jack-o-lantern, young scholars walk step-by-step through the life cycle of pumpkins with this fun art and science activity. After first participating in a shared reading of the children's book Pumpkin,...

Questioning a text is a very effective way for kids to develop their reading comprehension skills. Designed to engage all class members, a reading activity prompts pairs to develop and share their own questions about the ending of Neil...

What are the origins of el Dia de los Muertos, and how is this tradition observed in contemporary celebrations? With a variety of lesson plans and suggested hands-on activities, here is an excellent resource to reference as you...

Students discover facts about the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead. In this compare and contrast lesson, students explore Halloween and the Day of the Dead. Students create an alter to memorialize a family member or friend that has...

Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...

How do different communities celebrate special occasions? After researching celebrations in their countries, class members investigate other festivals like those associated with Ramadan, Diwali, Chinese New Year, Halloween, Easter,...

Students study the customs and superstitions of the Halloween holiday. They look at the origin of the Halloween, read poems, play games, and discuss readings such as Harry Potter and the works of Stephen King.

Gear up for Halloween by studying the horror genre with your class and analyzing films and texts to uncover the genre's traditional conventions.

What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...

Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis instructional activity. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...

Connect poetry to a naturally kid-friendly topic: ghosts! Draw on your class's prior knowledge of the paranormal to help them access the classic poem "Haunted House" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. After a fun warm-up activity describing...

What do all those chairs and pencils do in the classroom once everyone leaves? Allow imaginations to run wild with frighteningly short poems!

Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study. 

The Magic Pot by Patricia Coombs is the theme of this multidisciplinary lesson plan. Early readers first take part in a read aloud and grand conversation about the story's details. Then, they get to work practicing their skills in...

Students read the story The Magic Pot and complete language arts based activities based on the story. In this language arts lesson plan, students discuss, listen, observe, and complete language worksheets.

Once conceived, a guided set of literary analysis lessons will assist you day and night. Ninth graders look closely at "The Tell-Tale Heart" and analyze how Poe uses point of view to create questions about the narrator's sanity and...

Study African American inventor Jan Ernst Matzeliger and create imaginary monsters using texture.

Students recall Orff instrument families and specific instruments so that they can put sound effects to certain words in a scary story to make it more interesting.

Students identify examples of African clothing for casual and special occasions. After the teacher models types of African garb, they brainstorm reasons why people wear certian types of dress. They view pictures of various African...

Students analyze the role of masks in African culture. In this African masks lesson, students read about the importance and meaning of imagery of African masks. Students observe animals in local ecosystems and create a mask combining the...