Young writers can contemplate a cartoon zombie's brain while they write a creative story. The theme is Halloween and the issue is that the writer invited real monsters to his or her party. Big mistake! Or was it?

What on earth is that jar for? It was an ancient incense burner used by the Maya, that was inspired by the myth of the sun god. Young analysts hear the story of the Mayan sun god, analyze the story through the artistry in the jar, and...

Universal themes found throughout the world in the form of stories is the topic of today's activity. Upper graders analyze the cultural context of the Mithila piece, Hanuman. They consider the universal themes the image depicts and how...

A read-aloud anthology highlights how one story differs depending on where it comes from. Scholars listen carefully to familiar and new stories, participate in discussions, and complete word work practice. Extensions for each lesson...

Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...

Have your class analyze the narrative art in quilts. They identify elements in this domestic art and the stories they tell. They define a story quilt, view an example, and analyze the work of Harriet Power. This is a great lesson to...

There are so many ways to tell a story! Develop visual storytelling skills while facilitating an understanding of Greek art and culture. Learners design Greek style images to tell a story through art. They add their designs to Styrofoam...

West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word...

Practice using feelings as a way to reflect on past experiences. The poem The End and the text Tell Me a Story Mama are used to identify feeling words. As an extension, pupils participate in a service learning project and...

Here's a worksheet for St. Patrick's Day! Learners read a story starter about a conversation with a leprechaun they meet on a path, and generate the ending of the story and illustrate their work.

Matt Black's photo essay, "The Geography of Poverty" provides a shocking reminder of the poverty that exists in the United States. The resource not only focuses attention on poverty but also conditions that have given rise to situation...

After hearing the Passion, Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection, through an account of the gospel writer St. Mark students will comprehend the saving story of our Christian faith. They comprehend their language skills by writing and...

Help bring subconscious stereotypes to the surface to stop it in its tracks. Pupils first read an excerpt describing the experience of prejudice and analyze how this process connects to World War II. Then, they write a creative story...

Get your ghouls and gals writing on Halloween! Learners write about what their jack o' lantern said when it suddenly came to life. A cute pumpkin graphic and a fun font spices up the resource.

While every family's immigration story is unique, patterns emerge when looking at individual narratives. Using clips from the PBS video series, "Latino Americans," learners look at commonalities among immigrant experiences. A chart helps...

Let the pictures do the talking. Children tell their stories using provided guidelines for a photo essay exhibit. Discussion questions and checklist materials help pupils brainstorm and create photo essays to help inspire social change.

Young journalists use a "Is This Story Share-Worthy?" flowchart graphic to decide whether a story is worth sharing online. Instructors provide groups with fake news, poor quality stories, opinion pieces, biased news, and high-quality...

Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's...

Academics turn into storytellers in an engaging activity on activism. The activity focuses on promoting social change in local communities with stories. Young historians plan a storybook to target a specific audience and social issue and...

Young activists examine local civil rights issues presented in news media sites to determine what elements make these stories attention-grabbing and trustworthy. Using this information and their worksheets from the first two lessons in...

Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.

After watching and discussing a video on the Voyage of Cabrillo, individuals craft their own origin story and design and build an artifact they feel best represents their history.

The focus of the second lesson in the Standing Up for Democracy unit is on the power of assumptions based on a single experience or point of view. Class members begin by journaling about assumptions others make about their identity based...

Imagine going from being one of the richest, most important cities in the world to one of the poorest. Imagine the history captured in the architecture of such a city. Imagine these same now abandoned buildings being destroyed. How would...