Encourage scholars to become a productive community member with a kite-themed instructional activity. Following a review and discussion, learners complete a Venn diagram that displays the connection between character traits needed to...

In this literacy instructional activity, students color in the pattern blocks and cut them out in order to create new patterns as a puzzle or examples of polygons.

Young scholars read and compare and contrast a variety of books by their favorite authors. They sort books from various authors and identify themes and patterns in writing and drawings. They also create their own book in the style of...

Tenth graders read and study, in-depth, a specific classical tragedy, in this case, Oedipus. They explore strategies from making meaning out of or interpreting texts, as well as strategies for determining how authors create meaning in...

Learners analyze a symmetrical stamp design with an equal balance of light and dark to create a pattern in succession. In this shape design lesson, students review concepts of sign, symbol and language across cultures. Learners analyze...

A still life with tissue paper? Why not! Using Paul Cézanne's art as inspiration, learners create their own still life pictures by gluing various colors of tissue paper onto a paper or pattern.

Plagued with a horde of short, choppy sentences? Banish simplistic patterns from the writings of your pupils by modeling for them how to combine sentences to create lively, more interesting prose. Then provide them with a sentence...

Create adorable penguin-themed books and manipulatives with this cool resource. Instructions for use are provided, as are the stars of the show: five warmly dressed penguins who decide to go for a dip.

Spruce up a class reading of the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this fun series of activities. Starting with a list of reading comprehension questions and key vocabulary to address during a teacher...

Students explore the Jazz Era in America not only by answering questions but listening to music as well.

Fe, phi, fo, fum. This activity leads pairs to find the ratio of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence. The pairs find that the Fibonacci sequence can be found in many places. A discussion with the class shows that the ratios...

Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...

Students use tools in a painting package to design tiles and create repeating patterns. They design a single tile using a 4 x 4 grid and experiment with changing the alignment of some of the tiles by rotating different areas.

As part of a study of printmaking, class members study the works of Tara Donovan and Donald Sulta. They go on to build a printing plate using glue, textured paper, and found objects.

Emmulate some of Faith Ringgolds famous painted story quilts in your classroom. Have your class choose a story or you choose one for the whole class to portray. They will select their favorite scene to paint onto their story quilt. What...

Your pupils will be expected to determine the meaning of words and how those words affect the meaning of a text. Help them master this skill with the ideas listed here. First, look over the two activities that could be used for your...

After examining winning entries to the Nicholas A. Virgilio Memorial Haiku Competition, young poets try their hand at this fixed form.

Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before...

Your class can participate in a writing program involving four building blocks. By exploring words, sentences, writing forms, and story organization, they improve their creative writing skills throughout this year-long unit. Early in the...

A fun twist on bingo helps your kids learn their vowel sounds. As you call out each word, kids flip the tabs on a gameboard to cover their words and be the first to cover them all.

Students explore Native American weaving patterns and dance movements. In this Native Americans lesson, students view examples of weaving patterns on the Internet and compare the patterns to a Native American dance. Students demonstrate...

Second graders write a dinosaur poem using information from a research activity. In this dinosaur poetry and music lesson, 2nd graders listen to the book Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp in music class. They work in small groups to...

Young scholars create paintings in the style of art known as pointillism.

Students write diamonte poems that correspond to the double-exposed photograph they created.  In this poetry and multimedia artwork lesson, students use the photographic process to create a double-exposed photo then create...