Students explore the elements of contrast, emphasis, pattern, and color schemes by identifying how the artist manipulated tesserae in the mosaic. They create original mosaics by manipulating torn paper to depict different textures and...

Students analyze traditional ancient Egyptian depictions of the human body.

Combine class members' love of crafts and reading with one innovative lesson. Scholars create a one-of-a-kind woven bookmark using cardstock paper, yarn, and a needle. 

Here is a fun way to encourage a cooperative classroom, drawing skills, and creative expression. Each child draws a design or shape on his paper, then he rotates to the next child's paper where he adds to the previous design. When the...

Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Help your autistic learners to create a story and publish a book. They write simple stories, then turn their stories into books. A picture is drawn for each page of the book and the story is written below. Note: This is a good activity...

In this everyday editing instructional activity, learners correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about Michael Jordan. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.

Can you hear the men playing in the band? What are they playing and where are they going? These are the main ideas of a brief fictional passage.

What is the artist's role in the post 9/11 world? How do artists use imagery to convey meaning in their work? After examining the work of Mughal artist Imran Qureshi, class members create their own work that uses combative imagery to...

It's time to get crafty with shapes! Your future farmers demonstrate their geometric ability by building a farm using triangles, circles, rectangles, and squares. But first, scholars take part in a brainstorm session inspired by their...

Here is a clever lesson on pollination of flowers for you. In it, learners study the anatomy of a flower, and play a game in which they simulate the process of pollination. This fine plan brings in elements of art, physical education,...

Students listen to and watch the opera, Don Pasquale, by Donizetti. They discuss the importance of sets and costumes in an opera and then, with a partner, design a period costume for each of the main characters in the opera.

I can't stress enough the importance of songs and rhyming chants to the development of early literacy skills. To reinforce color recognition, little ones sing, count, move, and create. All you have to do is choose which of these great...

Review the narrative writing process with your emerging story writers. They read a sample narrative and identify five vague verbs that could be replaced with a more exact, exciting verb. Then they write a personal narrative making sure...

Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...

Celebrate the 100th day of school with a few great 100 themed stories and classroom activities. The books Benny's Pennies and 100th Day Worries are suggested for reading, making 10 piles of 10 objects is encouraged, and 5 extra lesson...

Third graders make books which illustrate the growth and development of a saguaro cactus from its beginnings as a seed all the way through its death. They trace the life cycle of the saguaro, identify each of the stages in its life,...

The proof is in the details! A richly detailed plan provides clear examples of how to draw inferences from text and how to provide support drawn directly from the text. 

Take a stand! Even the most reluctant speakers find their voices if the topics are engaging. Use pictures, photos, or word prompts (I think pizza is the best lunch on the school menu. What do you think?) to stir responses. Encourage...

Help your class explore the question "Is it ever right to disobey a law?" With a strong base of knowledge about the Civil War, anti-slavery movement, and Underground Railroad, your class explores civil disobedience in Marshall, Michigan...

Who is the Donner Party? Find out why this group of pioneers lives in infamy. A lot of information is provided in this resource, but you will have to copy and paste the text to acquire the handouts. Learners will look at primary sources,...

Youngsters practice using blends and digraphs. In this early reading lesson, students play a game of "Go Fish" using words that contain a blend or digraph. This allows them to practice recognizing the word and using it in a sentence.

Readers explore rhyming words. They will use the story The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs to identify rhyming words. Then they will create their own lists of rhyming words. In the end, they will be able to come up with words that rhyme...