First graders are introduced to using a database as a primary source. Using the internet, they choose a site of artifacts and practice navigating through the site. They identify an artifact and draw them on a large piece of white...

Third graders explore figurative language in Jacob Have I Loved and define what is a dream killer.

Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...

Students describe the difficulties faced when tying to escape using the underground railroad. Participating in an online simulation, students attempt to escape using the underground railroad. They view maps of the routes taken by the...

Students engage in a lesson plan looking at a major scene of a Shakespeare play. They assume the role play of being the director and apply problem solving skills in order to conduct the scene. Others must switch roles and take on the...

Ninth graders identify and recognize characteristics of nonfiction in literary works, explore language and culture of Gullah people, compare and contrast purposes of spirituals and quilts in terms of their relationships to escape from...

Students watch a video on the history of the city they live in. Individually, they take pictures of their community and identify the reasoning behind the picture. To end the lesson plan, they vote on their classmates photographs to be...

Place value to the millions is the focus of this math instructional activity. Third and fourth graders investigate multiple ways to represent a number. They examine place value while studying factual information about Pablo Picasso....

In this wonderful cross-curricular instructional activity, your youngsters will learn about Pueblo Indian storyteller dolls by creating their own! They discuss the tradition of story telling, especially in reference to Native Americans....

Students study spiders. In this spider lesson plan, students divide into four study groups, research their topic, and give a report over their findings. The four topics are Characteristics of spiders, life cycles of spiders, fun facts...

Second graders learn about plant systems and how plants grow and function. In this plant lesson plan, 2nd graders collect data based on roots, leaves, terrariums, plant uses, and locations of certain kinds of plants. They fill out...

Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing instructional activity, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language...

Young scholars explore musical pitch. In this cross curriculum musical instruments and "sound" physics lesson, students identify and describe common traits of woodwind instruments. Young scholars research "pitch" and what causes pitch...

While on-line banking and electronic payments seem to be the way of the future, next-generation wage earners still need to understand the details of check writing. Here the focus is on the details of the check including what the...

Pupils analyze how distinguishing another culture encourages us to respect each other. They research culture and all its avenues, recognizing and comprehending the relationship between people and geography. Ultimately, they can apply...

Students access prior knowledge of butterflies.  In this butterfly lesson, students create butterflies and compare and contrast their butterflies. Students describe the various body parts.

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...

Fifth graders use modern technologies which allow them to gain a new, dynamic, and intersting understanding of themselves, their community, and the world. They focus on environmental education and the effect of the environment on plant...

Have fun preparing a science podcast. After reviewing vocabulary, learners record audio files to create science vocabulary podcasts for particular units of study. A clever way to incorporate technology.

After viewing the documentary The Last Roundup, a documentary about the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately own island to a National Park, class members debate the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that permits the...

Students examine gravity, mass, and friction. For this speed and motion instructional activity, students investigate how straight line motion is impacted by gravity, mass, and fiction as they participate in a hands-on activity.

Eighth graders conduct research on various careers that are of interest to them. They conduct Internet research on a selected career choice, and create a nine card stack using HyperStudio to describe their career's salary, required...

English learners practice basic weather terms from listening to two books. They keep a daily weather record for two weeks to record the type of weather, as well as the high and low temperatures for each day. Next, they complete a simple...