Figurative language is the focus in the book Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. After reading Peggy Parish's book, class members dramatize idioms from the text, using dramatic strategies such as characterization, exaggeration, and...

Students examine figurative language in writing. Students demonstrate simile, metaphor, and personification in their own writing.

Using their keen eyes and ears, learners build story observation skills which they will use to create sensory detail in their art. They note all of the things they observed on a walk, categorize them by sense, and then use the same skill...

Students discover visual arts by creating sculptures in class. For this personal expression lesson, students research the Internet and examine different examples of modern sculptures and 3 dimensional art. Students utilize paper stock,...

Students act out lines from Romeo and Juliet in a charade-like game.

Students identify visual arts by identifying famous artwork on-line. In this sculpture instructional activity, students utilize the web to research popular sculptors and to see a video interview with Keith Haring. Students...

Students explore the concept of idioms as they learn about philanthropy. In this literature and service learning lesson, students read Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen and examine negative idioms. Students reflect on hurtful language...

Discover journalistic techniques by having learners prepare and write their own class newspaper. They discuss the five W's of investigative journalism and conduct interviews with school figures. They utilize video technology, podcast...

Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...

Young scholars read the play "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare. In groups, they identify the instances of similes, metaphors and personification. They use the Internet to compare and contrast the events in the play with historical...

Students create commercials using a digital camera. After brainstorming their ideas, they spend three days writing their commercials. Students practice and edit their commercials and then present them for review.

Students analyze lyrics and narration by reading poetry.  In this language arts lesson, students read and examine the poem Belfast Confetti.  Students discuss the topics and questions asked by the author Ciaran Carson.

Help young learners unlock the joy of silent reading by explicitly teaching comprehension methods such as cross-checking to figure out the meaning of unknown words. Practice and model expectations for behavior, and then set the class...

Twelfth graders hone descriptive writing skills by making a J. Peterman Catalogue. They bring to class a favorite piece of clothing or jewelry item and create their own description of it. They accompany each description with a hand-drawn...

Students work in groups to imagine, research and simulate a dinner party involving an author, a fictional character, and a significant historical figure as dinner guests. The activity uses Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the time...

Students research U.S. history by completing a worksheet activity in class. In this historical figure lesson, students identify the contributions and risks taken by the former African-American leader Martin Luther King Jr. Students read...

Invite your class to investigate racism and civil rights by analyzing the great Dr. Martin Luther King's speech. Your learners will read the words from the "I Have a Dream" speech and analyze the political and racial overtones. They will...

A realistic simulation uses charts to show forces, position, velocity, and acceleration versus time based on how the simulation is set up. Once those concepts are mastered, scholars use free body diagrams to explain how each graph...

Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities instructional activity provides a text that can be used to teach lessons...

Students analyze passages from The Mysteries of Love and Eloquence, or the Arts of Wooing and Complementing, written in the seventeenth century. Students analyze the images, words and figures of speech the author used and compare the...

Eighth graders investigate the history of the United States by researching Jamestown. In this archaeological activity, 8th graders attend a field trip to historical Jamestown in Virgina to discover key figures that formed our country....

Students explore choral reading.  In this oral reading lesson, students listen to the book Rat-a-tat-tat by Jill Eggleton and participate by reading certain parts chorally and adding sound effects with instruments and noise makers.

Students discover the cultural history of Egypt by illustrating Egyptian figures.  In this art history instructional activity, students analyze the Egyptian styles of figure drawings and emulate that by creating their own...

Students are challenged to design and construct a jointed figure that moves in a motion something like jumping jacks when a string is pulled.