Use Shel Silverstein's poem "Batty" to introduce poetry to young readers. This activity is not formatted well, but the plan does suggest learners memorize a poem, recite the poem individually, and then recite the poem as a class. Poetry...

Young scholars investigate poetry by incorporating images into the words of a poem.  In this language arts instructional activity, students discuss poetry writing devices and self expression with their classmates.  Young...

How can you tell if someone is happy? The lesson works with elementary and middle school scholars to activate their schema and pay attention to details to make inferences in their daily lives, poetry, and other literature. Cleverly...

Students use drama and poetry in their Geography class. In groups, they role play an interviewer or the interviewee in various plays that were presented to them. In their role, they must locate and label where the countries mentioned...

Students complete a unit on poetry. In this poetry lesson, students complete 19 lessons that focus on reading and writing poetry as well as learning about literary elements and sound devices. Students read poetry orally, debate poetry in...

Studetns make inferences based upone one-line poetry and group comparison. In this poetry lesson, 9th graders read strips from a poem and write prediction sentences for the poem. Students read each other's poetry lines and then read the...

How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...

Young scholars explore U.S. history by identifying American symbolism. In this American Flag instructional activity, students read the poem "The Flag" by M. Hubbard and define the symbolism of the colors and stripes within the U.S. flag....

Sixth graders read the books, The Invisible Thread: An Autobiography by Yoshiko Uchida and Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki about Japanese Americans during World War II. They hold discussions, take quizzes, and write essays about the...

Social issues of gender and media stereotypes, begins with a multi-sensory experience. Learners view the painting Backlash Blues and make critical comments based on what they see. They then read the Langston Hughes poem and listen to the...

Second graders compare and contrast gymnastics in 1859, 1900 and today. Students contrast differences in gymnastics for boys and girls today. Students pretend that they are interviewing a famous gymnast and write up their interview....

Students determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln lesson, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....

Students investigate the Trail of Tears. In this United States history activity, students identify the reason for removing the Cherokee Nation and role play a modern day situation similar to the Indian Removal Act. Students reflect their...

A series of 4 activities foster critical thinking, careful observation, and creative expression with the work of Canadian artist Robert Harris. Learners respond to half a painting and then to the whole picture while listening to a poem;...

Fifth graders explore U.S. history by reading an award winning book about World War II. In this Japanese internment camp lesson, 5th graders read the book Under the Blood-Red Sun and discuss the entrapment of Japanese-Americans on our...

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

Students learn what goals Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had when he wanted to change the inequality of the United States.

Second graders research distance between planets and the sun using encyclopedias. They use toilet paper sheets as a unit of measurement (50 million km.) students stand at planet locations using toilet paper to measure distance between.

Students identify similarities between Hughes' poetry and music (jazz and the blues).

Students study the characteristics and basic needs of insects. They compare and describe similarities among insects. They examine the body structure, covering, and movement of insects and also, examine insect life cycles in this unit of...

High schoolers examine different portrayals of African American women in poems and plays. Individually, they identify the character they want to play and reject the others. After acting out the scene, they hopefully realize that their...

Immerse your class in the Middle Ages with a thorough history instructional activity. After viewing examples of illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells, they discuss how these were the mode of keeping and storing...

Students discuss the attributes of a successful family after listening to the poem,"What Is a Family?" After sharing information about their own families, students work in groups to act out scenes from books that were previously read...

Learners create a clay model of the Sun and Earth. In this space science lesson, students explain how distance affects the appearance of objects. They write a poem or riddle about the Sun in their journal.