Third graders define, identify, measure, and assess the level and impact of violence in media. The media forms evaluated include music, sitcoms, news, and other programs that are identified and shared by the class. 

Compare and contrast ideas, hopes and dreams with those of Cassie in Faith Ringgold's, Tar Beach. your students can entries in their journals expressing their ideas.

Start the flow of writing with music! Help learners free-write and brainstorm by playing various selections of music. After each selection, scholars talk about the theme and mood and then practice free-writing on their own. Lighten up on...

Motivate your class with this lesson plan! Learners use passages from Edgar Allan Poe's poetry to practice reading fluency. They read "The Raven" as a rap song to better understand the rhyming patterns and pauses.  

Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...

Eighth graders recognize what makes them special through class participation and discussion of rap music, writing a poem about themselves, and designing their own special hat while working in groups.

Eighth graders first study the art of the U.S. Northwestern Coast Native American peoples. They select an image or make their own and make a drawing and then make a 6-inch linoleum block print.

Get out the glue and those oil pastels its time for an art project. The class explores shape, art, and color as they draw fish with glue, let them dry, and then color them as they wish. This project would be wonderful after discussing...

Pupils will identify each symbol by sight stating the value of each. They will use cardboard notes to who what they have learned so far about the note values creating 4 and 6 count phrases.

Sixth graders review the definition of adjectives and synonyms. Then, they produce a poem using as many of those words as they can. This language arts PowerPoint also reviews the elements necessary to construct a poem.

Students produce calligraphy projects using writing skills and unique tools in this six-day Art activity. Emphasis is placed upon the work of Portland, Oregon calligraphy artist Inga Dubay and her experiences with "Italic" writing...

Eighth graders practice pre-writing skills using brainstorming methods. Using music and meditation, they examine the difference between directed and undirected free-writing, as well as how and when to apply them to the pre-writing process.

Here is a language arts lesson that can be used with virtually any grade level. The only thing that changes is the reading level of the books. Learners compare and contrast different heroes and the characteristics they hold. They use a...

Here is an activity used originally to finish off a unit on country life and nature. It requires learners to have a basic understanding of harvest, rural life, and autumn. They'll use what they know to construct dance movements showing...

Hydra/hygiene, Muse/music.  Many English words are built on roots derived from the names of Greek and Roman gods. After examining a list of Greek and Roman gods and the meaning of their names, class members find the root in a list...

Picture books aren't just for children; they carry strong, valuable messages for adult as well. Explore the audience for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with a lesson that compares picture books to literature...

In this reading comprehension worksheet about Tupac Shakur, learners read a short article about his life and death. Students answer 5 questions. There are mature themes in this article.

Break down subject and verb agreement with this exercise. This activity only deals with present tense verbs and collective nouns. Pupils learn how to make the verb of a sentence agree with the collective noun by reading sentences and,...

Your class will enjoy this presentation, whether or not they are fans of hip hop. It focuses on the trends of hip hop names, discussing the role of cool names and the strong letter k. The slide show could successfully augment a class on...

"You hadda, George. I swear you hadda." Many young readers struggle with the final lines of the tragic tale of George and Lennie. Consider using this instructional activity to launch a conversation about why George "hadda."

Drama enthusiasts explore the importance of set and action in conveying dramatic tension. They act out a polished dramatic piece using the set as a key component of their story. This should be connected to setting as it is also used in...

Students complete research to enhance their reading of "The Grapes of Wrath". Using the text, they identify and locate cultural artifacts and discuss their symbolic connotations. As a class, they create a museum exhibit of the various...

What is figurative language? Introduce your young learners to the most popular forms of figurative language: the simile and the metaphor. Start by reading "Willow and Ginkgo" by Eve Merriam, and identify where similes are used. Then look...

Students explore traditional music of different societies around the world by listening to number of different musical recordings, discuss how music makes them feel, examine how music is central to cultural traditions, and compose short...