Fifth graders preview different poetry selections form different poets to narrow their criteria for a favorite poem. They use the web and written sources to find a favorite poem and then give an oral interpretation of their poem in class...

Third graders develop an understanding of genre by participating in small- and whole-group activities. In addition, they practice presentation and specific listening skills. This lesson assumes students have been regularly exposed to a...

Students explore a portion of the Chinese Zodiac with projects centered around the year of the rabbit. Students research types of rabbits, actual and fictional. Working in groups, they create a written or multimedia presentation.

Learners access information and data about US immigration using the Internet and other sources. They identify from research data the countries from which the largest number of immigrants to the US come from and create a database of these...

Students trace the rites of passage from the 1940's through the present in literature. They review some of their favorite expressions first and compare some of Holden's speech with their own. They discuss initial reactions to the book...

Students study the characteristics and basic needs of insects. They compare and describe similarities among insects. They examine the body structure, covering, and movement of insects and also, examine insect life cycles in this unit of...

Learners research the factors and events which lead to the creation of Canada. Using the internet, they participate in a "Confederation Review Conference" to discover how the country can best serve its citizens. They analyze current...

Learners create charts for story elements. They read two selections that share a common theme and discuss the story elements. They create a chart for the characters, plot, and setting and complete it while reading the selections.

Students listen to headline from National Enquirer or other tabloid, listen to story "Journalism in Tennessee," compare and contrast connections between Twain's idea of journalism with present day journalism, define vocabulary, and...

Students learn about farms through literature and center activities. In this farming lesson plan, students read about farming, sing songs about it, sort materials, and do more activities related to farming.

Students listen as teacher reads Words Are Not For Hurting, and answer questions about the content. Students discuss how to prevent arguments and work disagreements out with words. Students watch a puppet show that promotes discussion as...

Students study fish habits and traits. In this marine life lesson, students complete four learning centers of a fish memory game, a fish habitat study, draw and glue fish craft activity, and a fish read-a-thon. Students complete their...

In this literature instructional activity, students find the words that are associated with the Diary of Anne Frank and the answers are found at the bottom of the page.

Help young mathematicians see how fractions are used every day in the world around them with a series of problem solving exercises. Offering eight different word problems, this learning exercise challenges children to apply...

Concept muraling helps learners improve their comprehension of a text by giving them a way to organize their understanding of the key concepts in that text. Introduce readers to this process with a carefully scaffolded lesson plan that...

Pupils use a checklist to write a summary of a non-fiction article. The checklist includes: redundant information taken out, trivial information taken out, and only main points included in the summary. Using this checklist, they ...

Students research and describe the stories of Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They analyze historical sources from different points of view and present an analysis of two historical contexts.

Students evaluate the effectiveness of Internet book clubs, present their findings to the class, and design their own on-line book club (under the umbrella of a fictional television program) to encourage non-readers to read more.

Young scholars explore the concept of how to write a factual book report.  In this book report lesson, students conduct research on various topics.  Young scholars then use the information to write a book report in their own...

Students examine the different branches of the primate family tree. They create fact cards about various species of non-human primates and then write fictional skits about interactions among the different primates.

Students explore human migration, refugees and human rights. They read articles about immigration, create a migration journal, and participate in a mock human rights commission meeting. After collecting information about immigration,...

Students discuss literature about technology in the 20th century. In this book study instructional activity, students read I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and compare the fiction to technology in the 20th century.

Learners examine the idea of tribal sharing in the Native American community. They read a story about Native Americans and note the ways they are helping others. They draw a picture showing one of these acts.

Students analyze a reading selection. In this ocean lesson, students read a story about the ocean, ocean animals and coral reefs. Students have the option to complete internet research on coral reefs. Students write in their journals...