Prior to reading Tolkien's The Hobbit, class members respond to a series of statements in an anticipation guide that introduces many of the central concepts of the novel.

Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...

Explore reading comprehension and child safety in this young adult literacy lesson. High schoolers practice using context clues to figure out word meanings after observing a teacher model this process. They read an article about child...

Class groups collaborate to produce the storyboard for their video project. After determining the sequence of scenes, the camera angles, and characters in each scene, each group member is assigned a number of scenes to illustrate. When...

Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...

Several subjects are addressed within the context of a science lesson about the sun's ultraviolet rays. Elementary earth scientists consider protection of the skin with sunscreens (health), estimating and measuring surface area or an...

Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...

With a partner, youngsters measure their pulse and breathing rates, both at rest and after running in place for a minute. While this activity is not novel, the lesson plan includes a large-scale classroom graphing activity and other...

Using paper chromatography, water watchers discover that several substances might be dissolved even though they aren't visible. In this case, you will prepare a mixture of three different food colorings for them to experiment with. A...

Grab your feathers and your hat! And perhaps some macaroni! It's time to investigate the evolution of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Groups do a close reading of sheet music covers, lyrics, and even YouTube videos to see how this political song...

The six instructional shifts in this workshop definitely move math and science teachers' understanding of instruction. The workshop, 13th out of a series of 15, asks participants to examine sample tests and to look at how the six...

Small groups place sand and ice in a covered box, place the box in the sunlight, then observe as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation occur. These models serve as miniature water cycles and demonstrations of the three phases of...

First graders identify Monet as an Impressionist artist. They create impressions of trees and bushes, paint with sponges, and mix tints and shades. They create impressions of flowers with q-tip dabbing and mixing tints and shades.

Students engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of main...

Students examine the art of Anime and note its characteristics. Using scenes, they identify the plots, characters and themes trying to be portrayed. In groups, they compare and contrast the animation in America to that of Anime and...

Students explore the art of storytelling and stories from various cultures. Students experience Japanese and Chinese culture as well as Greek mythology. Students create and present their own Greek mythology topic to the class.

Students examine storytelling in a cross curricular unit. Language arts, social studies, science and math are all incorporated in this project as well as technology through the use of Hyperstudio.

Students study the changes in Canadian society and its culture as Canada became an independent nation.

Students design an artistic and literary collage of contemporary urban life that seeks to interpret, analyze, and evaluate its mettle. They integrate their impressions of urban life with established views, thereby enriching their...

First graders create two personal artifacts to add to a primary source shoebox that represents information about themselves. The first draw a self-portrait then build an artifact from Play-Doh and pipe cleaners to represent something...

Seventh graders explore a country in the Eastern hemisphere. They develop a packet that could be used by someone visiting that country during the month of December. Students explore the climate, foods, geography, customs and culture of...

Young scholars are each assigned an animal from Madagascar. They research their animal and design a picture book about their animal. Students design a cover page, back page, bibliography page and the title page. Their book will contain...

Young scholars identify the length of an inch. In this measurement lesson plan, students read Inch by Inch and predict how many inches long various objects are. Young scholars practice measuring the objects by using an inch ruler.

Students research a leader or achiever, prepare a poster, and participate in a panel discussion and role play.  In this contributions by people of diverse backgrounds instructional activity, students choose a leader and find three...