Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of private communities and the lives led by their residents. They design ideal planned communities for people featured in other Class Matters articles.

Third graders spend time identifying the characteristics they have and ones they would like to develop for their own personal growth. As a class, they brainstorm ways they can tell they are growing up or being mature. Individually, they...

Students see that ecosystems provide services to people that are essential to life as we know it. Reporters (drops of water) could interview the trees and soil in the surrounding ecosystems for news stories on how they helped keep the...

Students complete the fable, "The Fish and the Fisherman" using a tree graph as a brainstorming exercise. The main goal of the lesson is to convince the fisherman to release the fish that he caught.

Students examine how natural resources are reusable, renewable or nonrenewable.  In this ecosystems lesson students see the effects humans have on ecosystems and complete an art lesson activity. 

Eighth graders study Langston Hughes, "Thank You Ma'am" to discover the elements of plot, character motives and reactions. They express the effects of trust and kindness by writing a reflective personal narrative. They illustrate the...

Students demonstrate their understanding of a book read in class. In this reading comprehension lesson, students participate in a process drama led by their teacher in order to demonstrate their understanding of the book "The Lost...

Students participate in a variety of activities surrounding a thematic unit on apples and Johnny Appleseed.

Students differentiate the differences of living on a farm or in a city. They do this with the use of coloring pictures and have group discussion about each picture to identify characteristics and identify where the picture is from. The...

Young scholars create a holiday ornament. In this Keith Haring art lesson, students use paper mache to make 3-dimensional ornaments that resemble his work. Young scholars cut out felt shapes of babies, dogs and angels then sew them...

Students find out that all habitats have a carrying capacity. They explore how the world's human population has grown markedly in the 20th century, and that humans impact environmental health. Students investigate that people can and...

Students study barrel sponges. In this science and art lesson, students discuss what sponges are, create their own sponge, and share what they created with the rest of the class.

Fourth graders explore various methods of growing and harvesting rainforest foods in order to sustain its biodiversity. They discuss the various uses for trees from several viewpoints. Students research chocolate demand and land use...

Students compose haiku poems and recognize how cultures value nature and natural forces through the study of Japanese poetry. This lesson plan includes a bibliography of resources.

Students investigate the life and work of the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho as the Japanese poetic forms are studied. Nature, symbolism, and history are probed as the lesson is developed.

Third graders research insects using the internet sites provided. They research the role of insects as pollinators for plants, and the impact they have on our ecosystem. They participate in various activities/centers utilizing the facts...

Students complete a picture to show things found in their homes.  In this habitat lesson, students discuss and make a class picture of an animal habitat and its four basic needs.  Students sing a song. Students create their own...

Third graders study the factors necessary for plant growth and how plants adapt to their environment. They examine ow different plants require different environments to thrive.

Learners explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real life...

Pupils examine how Shinto and Buddhism are reflected in the Japanese art and life-style, especially as seen in the relationship people have with the land (gardens). This lesson is for the elementary classroom.

In this repetition worksheet, 4th graders make a word card for repetition, find repetition and other poetic devices in poems, and answer short answer questions. Students complete 3 activities.

In this biography worksheet, students read a one page text detailing the life of Theodore Roosevelt. Students then answer 14 short answer questions.

Students create landscape art using five specific techniques. In this Landscape Painting lesson, students read the biographies of famous landscape artists. Students analyze artwork to determine which techniques were successfully...