Who is telling the story? Readers take a look at the text Eight Days to determine if the story is told in first or third person. They then discuss in groups and complete a shared writing activity to describe how the narrator's point of...

Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...

Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a lesson that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...

Creating a strong password is easy ... but remembering it is a different story! Cyber scholars analyze the methods used by hackers to gain access to private information through a digital citizenship lesson plan. After learning more about...

Does Mark Twain’s satire become sarcasm and does he cross the line of propriety in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? As an introduction of satire, class members view an excerpt from The Daily Show and discuss Stewart's use of this...

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...

It's time for your class to literally show what they know! Pupils illustrate what they learned about the causes and effects of climate change by filling out a graphic organizer to complete the 5-part series of lessons. They discuss them...

Can you put that in writing? Scholars work with a partner to write a practice claim before writing their own claims. After writing their claims, learners share with class using a Concentric Circles activity.

Use the Internet, write an expository text, and have students share their knowledge of the planets in our solar system. They compose an expository writing piece and publish it to a web page.

Students write about main characters. For this dramatic writing lesson, students brainstorm character ideas. Students create actions and give the character a voice. Students act out the scene in groups and create a final draft.

Students determine ways of conserving water and write a Big Book about them. In this water conservation lesson, students participate in a puppet show about Drip and Drop, and ways to conserve water. They write a book that tells about...

Learning how to describe an object or a person is a great way to develop verbal and written expression. Learners with special needs improve their verbal expressive skills and concept development skills while playing a guessing game. The...

You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...

How do you think the parrot in "The Ghost" chapter of Matilda feels in the chimney? Put a class member in the hot seat and have the class ask questions relating to how they might have felt if they were the parrot in the chimney....

Chopin was a lovely composer who played the piano masterfully. Third graders are introduced to Chopin, his piano sounds, triple meter, music patterns, movement, and the waltz. They listen to his music while hearing the story Butterflies...

Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...

Inspire first grade artists to learn about abstract and realistic art while reading Eric Carle's Where are you Going? To See My Friend. Young artists design and make a mural collage by tearing shapes of paper while comparing English and...

Scholars of all ages examine Richard Blanco's poem, "El Florida Room." Looking closely at pictures, pupils look for details that stand out to them, then read the poem. A whole-class discussion allows learners to reflect on what they...

Can you name the job that involves scholars, classes, and grades? If you guessed teacher, you just won a round of Name That Job! The second lesson in a five-part college and career readiness unit has career seekers team up and go head to...

Few aspects of life make better fodder for a comedic play than politics. A study guide introduces George Bernard's Shaw comedy Arms and the Man. Along with summaries of each scene and brief biographies of the main characters, two lesson...

With the coronavirus pausing many norms in American society, officials are trying to decide how to safely hold voting in the 2020 presidential election. Using curated video clips, including speeches from Congress, journalists, and...

Examine the connection between descriptive language and emotional impact. For the first few chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, learners record the descriptive writing the author used to vivify the...

Follow a fabulous slide show on how monsoons form and how satellite technology is being used to observe the phenomena, explaining why they occur. Afterward, visit the TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) website to access actual...

How can you tell if a number of items is reasonable? Combine math and language arts with a fun lesson based on Jeff Shepard's The Right Number of Elephants. After reading the book, kids discuss amounts of other items and create...