Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Community service is the basis for a project based learning experience. Your class participates in four weekly activities that require them to research community issues and contribute their time and talent to assist those in need. This...

Students research what is possible locally and online to provide support for U.S. troops overseas during the holidays. Students also discuss what they would need to do to collect money or other items or launch a writing project.

A delightful lesson on poetry is here for you and your middle schoolers. Learners are instructed to write a Halloween poem. They get to choose the age range for the audience of the poem. So, it may be scary (for older kids), or humorous...

Your class can participate in a writing program involving four building blocks. By exploring words, sentences, writing forms, and story organization, they improve their creative writing skills throughout this year-long unit. Early in the...

Students create a My Favorite Holiday Calendar Page. They recall the months of the year and identify the various components of a calendar. Students also apply their learning about holiday customs to consider their own favorite holiday...

Honor family traditions with a lesson that examines the variety of winter celebrations. Class members discuss their family's traditions then complete a cut-and-paste practice page in which they match a picture to the name of a holiday....

Family traditions help to instill personal values, social norms, and the warmest of childhood memories. Elementary and secondary learners share their favorite family traditions with a fun diorama project. Using modeling clay, they create...

Gong He Xin Xi! Happy New Year! Planning a Lunar New Year/Spring Festival Celebration? Check out the activities and resources in a packet that encourages pupils to research the cultural values and traditional practices associated with...

Inspire kindness in and out of school with a lesson that challenges scholars to perform 100 acts of kindness during the time between Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Valentine's day. Leading up to a celebration of friendship, learners...

Students produce a holiday newsletter using a software program. In this holiday newsletter instructional activity, students use a software template to write a newsletter. They fill in the template with appropriate information and pictures.

Kids create a clown out of shapes. They work to show emotions while practicing their drawing skills. Pupils use circles, triangles, squares, oil pastels, and their imagination to draw, color, and decorate a sad or happy clown. Tip: Have...

Kids create leaf people out of sticks, glue, and leaves. They use their imagination to construct leaf people and then glue them onto construction paper. Tip: Extend this craft by incorporating writing. Have learners write a short story...

Discover the life of Abraham Lincoln with help from the story Abe Lincoln Remembers by Ann Turner. After listening carefully, scholars reflect on what they deem as Lincoln's most influential life event and how it relates...

Students create holiday story while working in cooperative learning groups, using Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express as a writing prompt.

Pupils write two haiku poems in appropriate form. Writing haiku allows students to practice in the skills of dividing words into syllables, counting syllables, and searching for words to fit a structure.

A lesson on the holiday known as Boxing Day is here for you. In it, middle schoolers read a passage about the history of the holiday, then complete some reading comprehension worksheets embedded in the plan to reinforce what they have...

What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...

Five sessions make up a instructional activity on the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. After reading and teaching young historians the history of the Jewish holiday, learners explore the celebration through hands-on activities and...

Shelves filled with heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Bouquets of red roses. Racks of romantic cards. Stores are preparing for Valentine's Day. Has the holiday become too commercialized? That is the question asked by a lesson designed...

Students construct Christmas cards for loved ones. In this holiday lesson, students use various art materials such as construction paper, sequins, buttons, cotton balls, and felt to decorate a Christmas card.

Students explore holidays by participating in class singing activities. In this Thanksgiving history activity, students discuss the importance of Thanksgiving Day and read several poems which discuss the history of Thanksgiving. Students...

Learners explore the concept of reusing and recycling everyday materials and make holiday-oriented decorations and gift wrapping. Letters containing environmental issues are composed and sent to political and corporate decision-makers.

Students investigate the history of the uses of rice paper. They learn to use controlled brush pressure and work within a border that they create. Students use many materials to create a functional piece of artwork.