The class creates and performs a movement performance of the creation story found in the Jewish tradition. This lesson begins with the research of Israeli culture and culminates in a performance of the narrated creation story....

Learners explore and react to the painting The Road to Santa Fe. In this interacting with art lesson, students locate various objects in the painting.  Learners copy the angle of objects by using their bodies.  Students discuss...

Explore narrative writing by participating in a role-playing activity. For this perspective lesson, learners define first and third person in writing and discuss how it changes the mood of the reader. The first activity has pupils write...

Readers create a literary scrapbook for one of the characters in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and fill it with mementoes, journal entries, letters, etc. A great way to get kids to think about characterization.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," is a popular phrase in our society. The lesson here puts the phrase to the test as pupils explore what truly is beautiful through a study of some Japanese folk art. A careful examination of the...

Elementary schoolers study the symbolism and influences found in advertising. First, they learn about the history and cultural significance of the Summer Official's Hat that was a symbol of status in ancient China. Then, they access...

Even though this is technically an art lesson, haiku poetry is actually the main focus! Learners view photographs of Japanese tea caddies. They list five descriptive words for the caddies, then write haiku poems using the caddies as...

How does gravity affect the life cycle of a butterfly? Learn first-hand what types of investigations astronauts perform in space by following along with one of NASA's experiments. Create butterfly habitats in the classroom with specific...

Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...

Imagine you are a Plains Indian, a nomad getting ready to follow a herd of buffalo. Now imagine what you would have to pack for your trip. Little ones examine images of a traditional parfleche (packing box), and then create packing lists...

After reading Loree Leedy's There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me, kids create and illustrate their own poems that convey the meaning of an idiom. The poems are then transferred into Shutterfly's Photo...

Why might toy advertisers use gender stereotypes to sell their products? Young people think critically about media messages and its role in gender stereotyping with a thought-provoking lesson plan.

Here is a mid-unit assessment for a group of lessons studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The first half of this instructional activity calls for several forms of review. Your class will review the content of the...

What does English have to do with math? Teach your class the "grammar" of a number sentence. Sentences with correct grammar can be false! Understanding of a number sentence leads to a comparison with equations.

What do your young geniuses really know? Assess the procedural knowledge of your pupils at the same time as their higher-level thinking with an assessment that identifies their depth of knowledge. Topics include solving...

A seven-question assessment determines how well your learners understand the procedures to add, subtract, multiply, and divide signed rational numbers. Pupils show their understanding through problem-solving situations. 

Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to coordinate geometry. Learners find the distance between two points on a coordinate plane by using the Pythagorean Theorem. The vertical and horizontal change creates a right triangle, which allows...

Asses the class to determine their knowledge of proportional relationships involving percents. Class members work through the nine-question assessment with a variety of percent problems. The multi-step problems involve simple interest,...

Knowing the standard algorithm opens up a whole new world of division. Scholars learn how to convert division involving decimals to division involving whole numbers to use the standard algorithm. Knowing how to multiply with powers of...

Do ratios have values? The seventh lesson plan in a series of 29 introduces the value of a ratio. Pupils create associated ratios to a given ratio. They also describe the fraction associated to the ratio as the value of the ratio.

Pick a corner. Scholars receive a quote about the Middle Ages and then participate in a four corners activity by choosing a corner pertaining to their quotes. They then work in groups of three to discuss the bold words in their quotes....

The guests have arrived. Scholars participate in a hosted gallery walk, using their scientific posters to share their research about DDT with their classmates. Then, using sticky notes, individuals leave positive feedback on their peers'...

Dictionaries, thesauruses, word walls, oh my! Pupils use several resources to revise their position papers to include appropriate vocabulary. Then, after peer editing, scholars write the final drafts of their essays and self-assess using...

Let's get colorful! Scholars use the Painted Essay technique to analyze and color code the conclusion of a model essay. Working in small groups, pupils then write a conclusion paragraph for their draft editorials about offshore...