Students read and perform William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In this Shakepeare play lesson, students read the script for the play and practice the simplified version of the play.

Poor Cinna, the poet. His dream of “things unlucky” certainly comes true as the mob tears him apart, at first because they mistake him for Cinna, the conspirator, and then continue to “tear him to pieces for his bad verses.” As part of...

Is money the root of all evil, or the answer to everyone's dreams? Analyze the role of money in John Steinbeck's The Pearl with a writing prompt where kids imagine that they have won the lottery, and must think about the ways it will...

Students practice discerning between the letters D and B. Through hands on and listening activities, they recognize the difference between the commonly confused letters B and D. They practice writing both letters and correcting common...

Fourth graders demonstrate and evaluate the six traits of writing. They read and identify good writing and bad writing, utilize a rubric to self-evaluate their own writing, participate in a Reader's Theater, and publish a class book.

Do talk back! The transcript of one side of a telephone conversation launches a study of dialogue. Class members imagine the response of the speaker on the other side of the conversation and record these responses on the provided...

A reading of Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter opens a discussion of justice and fairness. Using a Venn diagram and an Idea Wheel graphic organizer, class members consider the similarities and differences in these two terms. They then...

Students explore the plight of Jews during the Holocaust. In this World War II activity, students read Daniel's Story by Carol Matas and complete the provided comprehension, characterization, and vocabulary activities.

Students recognize that "heroes" and "role models" are not synonymous terms. By analyzing heroes of other cultures and periods, they determine that many heroic figures, mythic or historical, rather than providing a model of a societal...

Learners explore famous artists in order to write mystery stories incorporating their life and works. They write their own based on their research of a particular artist.

Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...

Explore the informative links found within this site to gain an insight into the life and work of Chris Van Allsburg. This site provides lesson plans, teaching ideas and activities for several of his works.