Students explore how disease and epidemics have the potential to shape communities. They examine their impact on culture and specifically the literature of the time. Students investigate how trade routes accelerated the movement of...

What do writing and dance have in common? They both have a six-trait rubric for assessment. Just like a good story, a good dance must have a hook, beginning, middle, end,  logical sequence, and a climax. Learners use a...

Reading out loud can be a real thrill for some, and a real issue for others. Teach your class that reading with inflection and fluency can be as easy as singing a song. They'll first analyze two Bobby McFerrin songs for intonation,...

Stories contain very specific elements; plot, characters, and key events. Learners use pantomime to retell a key event from the beginning, middle, and end of a story. They discuss setting and character as each group discusses and then...

There are so many different ways to help learners make text-to-self connections. Here, fifth graders will create tableaus that show an event from a chapter in the class reader. They'll discuss why they chose that event to dramatize and...

They say art often imitates life. Learners research and write an expository paper on modern dance choreographer, Alvin Ailey. They focus on describing how his life and background has influenced his dance creations. This is a great...

Beverly Cleary is the fabulous author focused on, in this author study. Students conduct Internet Research in order to find out as much as they can about Ms. Cleary. They then use their findings and the Garageband program to create a...

Explore how to use appropriate language for a variety of real-world settings. Here, middle schoolers determine the audience for various types of magazines, and identify words that are appropriate for various friends and family members....

Following a detailed activity and reading guide students will better grasp their reading of the book Stuart Little. They visit a series of web sites to gain a mouse's perspective then create a Mouse Movie with an iPod camera and Keynote....

Patterns happen everywhere, in music, math, and language! Fourth graders listen to the "William Tell Overture" visualizing the patterns that they hear. They then discuss and write an ABA poem that matches the ABA form found in the music...

Students read about George Washington Carver, then work in small groups to design, write and illustrate a booklet about his accomplishments.

First graders listen to two books about Rosa Parks. They contribute factual information for a web. They listen to an interview with Rosa Parks on the internet, adding more information to the web. They write and illustrate a book using...

Fifth graders use technology to research and collect data. They develop awareness and appreciation of authors and genres. They organize information for presentation.

Third graders make predictions about the story "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" based on background knowledge. They read the story, stopping to verify or reject predictions. They write their own opinionated fairytales.

Fifth graders illustrate at least three art elements in a drawing of a mammal they've read about with 100% accuracy. As a review, Bloom's Taxonomy questions are asked as they prepare to sketch something they pictured in the story they read.

A great way to publish students' stories is by having them create a picture book using Pages. This simple lesson has them take a short story they have written and create a book with a title page and dedication. After they have printed...

Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions. 

Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis.  In this Northern Lights lesson, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the Northern lights....

Elementary schoolers read many tall tales. They create their own tall tale about a specific event of their choosing. They must act the part of the author. This well-designed lesson takes three class sessions to complete, and is...

Elementary writers practice writing descriptive paragraphs by adding adjectives and sensory words to their writing. They use a picture of a monster for their descriptive paragraph. This 12-page lesson should increase your charges...

More of a short lesson than a worksheet, this exercise gives instruction on the definition of nouns. Young writers discover common, proper, singular, plural, concrete, and abstract nouns. Excellent!

Students explore the concepts that enable them to design and conduct sound scientific experiments. They critique a faulty experiment and become familiar with some of the criteria of a good experiment. They conduct their own experiment.

Teaching learners how to evaluate a research source is an important part of the research process. The fresh idea here is that groups first develop a list of reasons why resources should be evaluated, transform these reasons into...