Brainstorming—the art of coming up with endless ideas. Pupils brainstorm how to solve local problems in their counties and eventually narrow their ideas down to one solution as a team.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day and encourage creativity with a writing prompt. Young scholars to compose a narrative that details what they would keep at the end of a rainbow.

Students, through modeling and independent practice, are introduced to the different methods of brainstorming. They explore and engage in these different approaches individually, in pairs, and as a group.

Creative activities help bring literature alive. The first of a set of lessons designed to accompany selections from Theme 4: Problem Solvers uses activities such as skits, responses to music, and social studies projects. These...

Make the thought process visible with a handy concept map organizer. As learners develop their main ideas in research, writing, or creative development, they can add details and like ideas to the worksheet as needed.

Everyone sees the results of public policy, but not everyone understands the strategy that goes into creating an effective one. Now that your class understands the brainstorming process from earlier in the series, they continue on to the...

Students perform a skit.  In this performance and creativity activity, students brainstorm ideas to be performed such as playing basketball, cheerleaders, roller skating and doing the dishes.  Students perform a skit and the...

What is the most pressing issue in your community? The resource helps you and your middle schoolers begin the process of doing something about it! Learners compare and contrast two pressing issues in their local counties by reading two...

Students investigate the environment by designing a group project.  In this ecology lesson, students identify the man made threats to the Amazon while reading environmentally conscience vocabulary terms.  Students collaborate...

Close your eyes and picture a time where you decided to tell the truth to someone. What were you wearing? How did you feel? Such prompts begin a guided imagery activity for Zach's Lie. Directions for creating an environment conducive to...

Students brainstorm all the possible scenarios that would help them tell a story in detail with the whole class and with partners. They create web outlines to create a name story and then illustrate it with creative grammar usage and...

Lesson 6 of this extensive unit finally has your class begin to work their way through specific articles from the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Before examining the rights actually detailed in the...

Third graders practice the skills of identifying the main message in a story, describing the main character, and sorting the key details of a story into specific categories. The story they read is, The Boy Who Loved Words. Using a...

Learners follow five steps to compose an alliteration poem. They choose one consonant and brainstorm as many nouns, verbs, and adjectives they can think of to create rhyming sentences that come together in a poetic fashion. 

Students respond to a situation presented about the wetlands. In this wetlands instructional activity, students understand the various opinions over the use of areas in the wetlands. Students complete a worksheet using critical thinking...

Models of and directions for how to write 20 different types of poems are featured in an NCTE resource. The introduction to each form highlights the embedded concepts. For example, tongue twisters encourage poets to use alliteration and...

Students discuss the concept of hunger.  In this hunger instructional activity, students discuss the book, The Story of Stone Soup.  Student then brainstorm a possible service project ideas and create plans to carry out their...

Students complete a number and letter recognition activity by creating phone numbers for businesses. In this telephone number instructional activity, students brainstorm telephone numbers that include words. Students translate numbers to...

Would your ideal science lab be filled with bubbling beakers and zapping Tesla coils? Or would it contain state-of-the-art computer technology and data analysis? Dream big with an innovative lesson that connects math and language...

Explore ways to make research and writing more interesting. The first in a series of three challenge activities designed to accompany Theme 2: Give It All You've Got involve creating sports cards, designing cereal boxes, and using other...

It's easy to forget about something as simple as water, a substance that is easily available to many in the world. However, understanding water management and the importance of a renewable resource system becomes clear in an informative,...

CStudents create a sensory chart in on the topic of Mardi Gras. They design a brainstorm web using Inspiration and complete creative writing assignment. Students write a poem about Mardi Gras that is presented to the class at the final...

Second graders identify adjectives and brainstorm adjectives that may be used to complete sentences. Students draw pictures and describe them using adjectives. The teacher and students participate in an activity where they ask...

Learners write on a variety of topics, maximize creative and expository writing skills, develop focused writing, organize ideas, incorporate detail in writing, and exhibit varied and precise word choice.