Students make their own daruma. Students play a Japanese game related to the daruma.

Second graders explore the music and dance of Japan in this five lessons unit. Aspects of Janpanese and American culture are compared. The food, holidays, clothing, and the school day of the two countries are discussed.

Learners study folk tales. They write a class folk tale and then one of their own using a famous character or known celebrity as their main character. They put on a class play of one of the student's folk tales.

Students set, and attain a goal using a daruma, a Japanese folk toy.

Students compose song as a classroom effort. They write a one-paragraph essay about "message" songs in 100 years and include three ideas for topics along with the style of music (such as folk, rock, blues, rap, etc.) that would match.

Pupils complete a series of lesson plans that examine and define Appalachian humor. They complete surveys and examine Appalachian folk tales, picture books, film and jokes for shared characteristics.

Sixth graders examine the Creole language known as Gullah which is a form of speech comprised of a number of unrelated languages. They determine how slaves used this to communicate so that slave masters would not be able to understand...

In this reading bingo worksheet, students play bingo through identifying which books are folk literature, historical fiction, modern fantasy, sports, biography, and other forms of literature.

In this archive folder activity, students are provided instructions for creating an archive folder for materials accumulated during the interview for their folklife assignment.

In this archive folder list of contents learning exercise, students receive a complete list of all the materials they must turn in to complete the folklife interview assignment.

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Students participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.

Students define elements of stories from around the world that include helpful animals. They explore animal character motivations and use graphic organizers to compare and contrast animal stories from different cultures.

Students read "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard and participate in a class discussion that examines Howard's letter for both content and writing form. They write a letter using some of the techniques they identified in Howard's.

Improve writing skills using methods from Robert Gay's Writing Through Reading; Gay espouses reproducing the work of successful writers to build the ability to convey original ideas effectively. Young writers transcribe, paraphrase,...

What does your dialect sound like? Examine variation in English as it relates to geographic regions with your class. They recognize some of the major differences between regional dialects and determine that everyone speaks a dialect....

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

The concept behind this instructional activity is fantastic. Learners explore how different locations and situations affect them as individuals, focusing heavily on the impact of the urban environment. They question how location can make...

This is a terrific art analysis worksheet that has kids thinking critically about art, symbolism, and history. They answer several questions regarding basic art elements and then delve into a thoughtful analysis.

Information is provided on Gray's Reef, Florida Keys, and Flower Garden Banks marine sanctuaries. Young marine biologists then visit the FishBase and REEF databases to collect fish species information for each location. They then...

Have to sub for a music class on short notice? Or have some extra time to play with? Never fear! Help is here in the form of 20 sure-fire music activities and worksheets tested and submitted by music teachers. A great resource to add to...

What can a Ganesh statue, hand ornament, and print block tell you about India? Introduce your learners to the geography, history, and culture of India by analyzing primary sources and using the well-designed worksheets provided in this...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...