Turn the tables on your language arts pupils by letting them be the teachers! With a list of grammatical topics to choose from (subject, adverbs, direct objects, etc), eighth graders plan a presentation to "re-review" the concept with...

Most people have heard of Aesop's Fables, but who was Aesop and when did the fables actually get recorded? Teach your class all about Aesop and fables in general with the presentation before inviting them to examine several fables and...

Before your high schoolers embark on the journey of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, provide them with this prereading activity. Independently, they respond to seven statements that connect with the novel. For example, they must decide if...

The Secret Garden, is a wonderful book to read with your class. After reading, why not employ the lesson plan presented here as a follow up activity? In it, pupils create character charts that portray the tremendous changes that...

Study allusions with a research and presentation project. Pupils are assigned a specific allusion, the phoenix for example. They research the origins, compose a summary, explain the concept, and explore this allusion within various...

Revisit the documentaries viewed in the previous lesson in this series in order to take a look at the persuasive techniques employed by the documentary creators. Small groups watch the films a second time, taking notes on two provided...

Looking for a Thanksgiving week activity? Try this seven-page printable book documenting the story of the first Thanksgiving. Each page (1/2 sheet) has a short text along with a picture kids can color in.

Your young musicians will take note of this worksheet that asks them to mark the half steps in a C major scale and then write the scale in both treble and bass clef. 

Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...

Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...

What happens to your body when you use drugs? What do you do if your friend wants you to start using? Learn about the signs of addiction and the ways to withstand peer pressure with two classroom activities. After storyboarding the...

Sometimes, taking things apart is more fun than putting things together. Groups of learners participate in a reverse engineering activity. They dissect a device of their choosing to see how it works—great hands-on learning from the...

After completing an online activity about the Mayflower, scholars draw a picture about what they know of the Thanksgiving holiday, including a one-sentence summary. A reading of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma is...

Students investigate the concept of the number one million. In this number concepts lesson plan, students read the book How Much is a Million? and brainstorm questions, such as "how many leaves are on a tree" and "how many hairs are on...

Students explore the environment they live in. In this habitats lesson, students define habitat and create a web in kidspiration. Students take a walk outside and record what they see and hear and may take pictures as well. Students...

How can you tell when a story takes place? Use context clues to infer the time of day and seasons of five short reading passages. Kids then note each passage's time period as daytime or nighttime, as well as winter or summer.

Sometimes it's helpful to read certain passages in a novel slowly and carefully, and to read other parts more quickly to move the plot along. Learners tread carefully through Chapter 20 of Lois Lowry's The Giver, noting which...

Take a look at linguistics and stereotypes in Great Britian with a word study of "chav." Learners find out what terms are pejoratives and what they are meant to convey. Geared toward British culture, study the ever-changing English...

This outlines steps for reviewing chapters 9-12 of The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleishman. Small groups read the chapters together and then clarify any confusing parts. The class compares 2 different letters to determine which is better...

Primary historical sources can be a challenge for some readers, so these seven guided-reading questions will be very useful to US History or Government classes studying The Articles of Confederation. Each question has multiple parts and...

Compare the North and South of New Zealand. Exploritive minds identify which island is better to live on, taking into consideration such things as social, political, and economic aspects. They research an argument to present and debate...

Split the class into two groups for a fishbowl discussion using of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee. The first group initiates the conversation by reviewing the important points of Chapter thirteen while group two...

What can you contribute? Scholars read text to determine how ants contribute to the rainforest. First, they categorize and sort facts gathered from reading. Next, readers focus on specific terms in each paragraphs of the text Ants by...

Code red! Learners read an informational article about the Red Cross, discussing the gist of the text in small groups. On a three-column note catcher, pupils take notes to show how the Red Cross functions as a multinational aid...