Students explore two Native American legends. In this cultural traditions lesson, students read "The Legend of Blue Bonnet," and "The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush." Students then study basic Native American dance movements prior to...

Students compare and contrast Cinderella stories. In this folktale lesson, students discuss the attributes of the genre and then read and research different cultural versions of the tale. Students present their findings to their classmates.

Students identify the plot and theme of cartoons. In groups, they discuss and compare the written and movie versions of popular fairy tales. Individually, they write their own fairy tale and share them with the class. They write their...

Learners discuss the fable, The Crow and the Pitcher. In this literature instructional activity, students read the fable and create a crow sock puppet. Learners use their puppets to dramatize the fable.

Students construct a rainstick. In this music instructional activity, students investigate the history of the rainstick by reading the book Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. Students express their feelings about the...

Students look at three different versions of the Cinderella story. In this comparative literature lesson plan, students read the Chinese version "Yeh-Shen", the Egyptian version "Rhodopis," and the Native American version "The Hidden...

Fourth graders research pioneer life. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders read the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and discuss what life was like for early pioneers. They research pioneers and show what they...

Students read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths that explain natural phenomena.

Students read and understand the book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. In this language activity, students understand the Ebonics and colloquialisms of the book. Students discuss the events and vocabulary used. Students explain their...

High schoolers investigate the dramatic elements of The Crucible. In this drama lesson plan, students explore the elements and themes of the Arthur Miller play as they read the play and watch performances of some of the acts. High...

Young scholars explore the attributes of American tall tales. In this folklore lesson plan, students read several tall tales, describe the elements of tall tales, and then use hyperbole to write their own tall tales.

Students play string instruments to discover how the pitch changes on various string instruments.  In this pitch lesson, students listen to video clips and play an online music game.  Students become familiar with music...

Here is an excellent lesson tigers that has a research component. Integrated into the lesson is the premise that God created animals and the human responsibility to care for them. At learning centers students visit various Websites and...

Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...

Middle schoolers discuss the meaning of integrity. For this language arts lesson, students work in small groups to read scenarios and discuss how integrity applies to all scenarios. Middle schoolers discuss what the benefits of having...

Pupils identify heroic character traits that they admire and that inspire trust and result in service to others. They identify the heroic traits of a character of their choosing and defend their reasoning using evidence from the text and...

Students explore aspects of the Vietnam War and how it relates to the heritage of America. In an attempt to understand the level of involvement, students analyze statistics from the Vietnam war. Students watch a video, read a book, and...

Students are introduced to the history of showing the human anatomy. In groups, they measure their height and arm spans to create a graph and determine if their measurements support Vitruvius' work. Individually, they make their own...

First graders hear Great Grandma and I. They locate objects representing then (seed) and now (tomato). They make then and now charts for members of their families.

Second graders collect data from their families about their reading habits and graph them. In this graphing family reading habits lesson, 2nd graders interview family members about their reading habits. They then use a graphing computer...

Students examine the Caribbean in terms of its music, art, and folklore. As a class, they listen to a folktale and discuss the difference between telling a story and reading a story. In groups, they write their own folktale and share...

Students take virtual field trips to places in the U.S.A. in conjunction with the stops made by the class mascot, Road Rabbit. As Road Rabbit travels to his destination(s) via snail mail, so do the students via the Internet.

Students read aloud, "The Best Vacation Ever," by Stuart Murphy locate vacation spots on a map and describe their own vacations. Students illustrate their summer vacation spot and describe the vacation, placing it on a "vacation matrix"...

Twelfth graders write self-identity essays of three to five paragraphs in length. They include topic sentences, transition words, and concluding paragraphs in their essays, They read their essays to classmates.