This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...

Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...

Who is Doctor DeSoto? Start by playing a video clip (included). Discuss different methods of persuasion, and then analyze two different persuasive letter examples. What should your class be looking for? Send them off to work in groups...

Delve into the fascinating relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera using this resource. Learners discuss the lives of these famous artists, and talk about the ways Frida Kahlo incorporated elements of this tumultuous...

Cyber Dewey? Dewey Made Fun? Do the Dewey Game? After a librarian-led tour of the school library and an explanation of the Dewey Decimal System, class members use the Internet to access MAGNOLIA, a site with resources devoted to library...

What can a self-portrait reveal about an artist? Discuss various self-portraits before tasking your pupils with creating their own. Learners research artists, develop an idea of their own individuality, and create photo collages with...

Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....

Use this simple collaborative activity to introduce the definition, art, and poetry of romanticism. Educators will have to provide the poetry, images of the art, and the survey for the learners, but by using this resource, they won't...

Third graders pair up with a partner via an online classroom. They analyze half of the story "Enemy Pie" and communicate with their online peer to predict the outcome of the story.

Learners are introduced to Yvonne Ranier's "Trio A" dance and investigate how to express concern over social issues through choreography. They research important issues from the 1960's, choreograph and perform original dances.

First graders take a look at schools of the past and present, and try to conjure an idea of what schools of the future will look like. After taking a walk around their own school and taking note of the buildings and the things that are...

The Bard? Folly? Tragedy? How familiar are your pupils with terms associated with Romeo and Juliet? Class members rate their knowledge of a list of words and then share what they know with the class. The worksheet, discussion questions,...

Third graders create a class A to Z Feelings book to explore emotions, discover new words, pose for a "feeling" icture, and write about the feeling.

Pupils explore daily dilemmas students face. They write and illustrate a story book dealing with one dilemma. Pupils write reviews of their books. They read their books to second grade students. Additional cross curriculum activities are...

Students discuss books they are reading during the semester through e-mail with other students. They complete a reading interest survey, e-mail their partner weekly, and read and suggest six novels by the end of the semester.

Students take a "field trip" with the teacher through the school then draw a diagram of what they saw. They bring the maps to the computer lab where they create electronic maps using the software program Neighborhood Map Machine.

Students gain insight into the unusual, solitary world of Beatrix Potter's Victorian childhood and can compare/contrast it with their own world to explain why Potter wrote such simple stories and why she wrote about animals rather than...

Fourth graders read "The Runaway" by Robert Frost and analyze it for its literal and symbolic meanings. They compare their personal experiences with the poet's suggestions about youthful attitudes and behaviors. Some nice worksheets are...

Students research using Google Earth a variety of websites to explore America's most prominent and famous buildings. They then compare and contrast architectural styles and write a position paper defending or arguing against their chosen...

Ninth graders publish a magazine during a ten week marking period. They make individual contributions to the group project that is based on career choices. They write and publish articles, poems, entertainment pieces, and a play that...

Fifth graders brainstorm known features of science fiction books and titles read. They pair up and discuss the possible physical characteristics fo a creature that could appear fron an excerpt of SCI-FI TALES.

Sixth graders explore and analyze Newbery Medal books. They view a Powerpoint presentation on the Newbery Medal book of that current year, select a book, read and analyze the book, and prepare a multimedia book report presentation.

Learners create a dictionary of vocabulary after reading a story. Individually, they create a story web making sure to include all of the basic story elements. They also create a timeline and write a book report of all important events.

Third graders practice following and writing directions through the use of simple recipes. First they write directions for creating an ice cream sundae. Then they make the sundaes using the recipe written by their classmates.