Here's a prescription for creativity—keep a daily art journal. Words, images, shapes, objects, all can be used as prompts that exercise the creative imagination. Set aside a couple of moments each day for this engaging activity.

Young writers personalize their journals by making their own. Whether they make covers for existing journals or make their own books, the activity encourages kids to express themselves in words and images.

Inspire your class to look at their environments as if they were seeing them for the first time in order to gain a better understanding of the concept of perspective. After exploring their communities and keeping a journal of major...

As you read a story or novel, have your class members put together and fill out a journal. They will have the chance to illustrate a cover page, draw and write about various topics, respond to a focus questions, and draft a paragraph.

Step into the great outdoors and develop young scientists' skills of observation with a nature journaling lesson. Given a specific focus or goal, children practice making and recording observations of nature through written descriptions...

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...

Connect science, art, and language arts with a nature-themed bookmaking project. Kids craft book covers, cut paper for pages, and learn how to bind their creations.

Wildlife includes all animals that have not been domesticated, both big and small. Young scientists search for all types of wildlife and more importantly for evidence that wildlife is present. As they venture in an outdoor space, they...

What led Americans to head west in the 1800s? Using an interactive map and journals from those who traveled, pupils explore the stories of those who migrated. In addition, they see how the numbers fluctuated in response to the push-pull...

A Reading Adventure Pack takes a close look at birds. After reading a fiction and nonfiction book, scholars craft a thaumatrope, begin a birding journal using their sense of sight and hearing, and build a model bird using supplies from...

A timelapse video hooks learners' attention to the phases of the moon. After discussing their observations, pupils use the Moon Giant website to view the moon on their birthday and complete a bar graph. The class creates an anchor chart...

Use this exceptional resource to examine the discourse and debate that occurred at the start of the War of 1812 with your class. Learners will first consider their own position on the war in a silent journal writing activity. Then after...

Third graders listen to read-alouds and participate in extension activities about European Explorers—Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, John Cabot, Henry Hudson, and Samuel de...

Young mathematicians spin their way to a deeper number sense with this fun, collaborative activity. Using two spinners, one with the numbers 0-9 and the other with the decades 00-90, pairs of young scholars take turns building and...

What kinds of birds are common in the area? Young scientists use household supplies to create bird feeders. They then document the birds that come to their feeders by keeping journals. 

Scholars use a large carton, string, an emery board, and bird food to create a hand-made bird feeder. After completing the craft, pupils keep a journal to track their observations.

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

Individuals select a plant, illustrate it in their journal, record observations, and create a life story for their plant that accounts for its features and any unique properties. Using these descriptions, a partner attempts to locate...

How big is that carrot? Why one hand span, of course. As an exercise in measurement, individuals trace their hand in their science journal and search the school garden for one object the same size as the span between their thumb and...

Prevent your students from making a disaster out of their writing journals while attempting to draw their own graphic organizer. Instead, use this perfectly proportioned template of a Venn diagram.

The San Andreas fault is one of the longest fault zones in the world. In a series of 20 lessons, the fourth lesson has pupils use a paper model to recreate various types of plate faults. Each is held in position then drawn...

Birdwatching is a popular hobby. Young scientists test their knowledge of bird characteristics on their own bird-watching expedition. They take their journals on a walk and sketch the key characteristics of the birds they find while...

To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...

Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...