Apple tasting launches an investigation of the story and travels of John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. After listening to his story, class members craft a summary of the tale, chart his journeys on a map, and sample different...

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...

"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-instructional activity unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star...

Houses come in all shapes and sizes, but not all houses are safe from Mr. and Mrs. Twit. The 10th instructional activity in a unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl turns learners into architects. While designing houses for...

Young journalists write diary entries from the point of view of a person involved in a historical event. They focus on including facts, clear narration, and accurate description of the individual's feelings. 

Engage critical and social thinking by exploring the value of language and word choice. The class considers the article "The Silence of the Historic Present" and analyzes several presidential speeches. They engage in class...

Was the fatal crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 cause by mechanical failure or was it an act of sabotage? The crux of the debate and the subsequent controversy centers on translation of an Arabic phrase uttered by the pilot. The New York...

Young potters make their very own version of the classic Navajo Pottery. With helpful worksheets and applicable cross-curricular activities, the lesson is an enriching way to mold both your clay and the multicultural...

Who is Herman Melville? Read and discuss "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street." Then, discuss the film adaptations of Melville's work and translate a passage of the text into modern-day English. Discussion questions are...

Embark on a journey of writing several different types of poetry. Fifth graders read several examples, and use the examples to model their own writing. Each poem is to be accompanied by a different art visual representation. In the end,...

Need a musical lesson for your drama or performing arts class? VH1 has put together a really neat lesson, in which learners use biographical information about Alicia Keys to write and perform a one-act musical related to her life. This...

Imagine being one of the painters in 1910 at the Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut. Using the Florence Griswold Museum's on-line resources to gather information about the daily life of artists at the boardinghouse, learners write a letter...

Seven poems paired with seven original works of art provide learners an opportunity to draw connections between literary and artistic interpretations. Designed to augment a study of the Holocaust, each pair is accompanied by discussion...

The artistic choices Art Spiegelman made in his graphic novel, Maus, are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare classic comic book forms with Spiegelman’s panels and frames. Directed to specific pages and guided by a...

Students determine the origin of everyday words. In this language and literacy lesson plan, the teacher identifies words that students use that have roots in another language, then students work in pairs to determine the original...

Students watch and discuss a scene from 'Cool Hand Luke,' then read the actor Kevin Costner's commentary on it. Then, each identifies one work of art that he or she loves and prepares a similar commentary on the details of that work's...

Students consider the ways nature has been used in art, and then design and create their own original sculptures using materials from nature for a class exhibit.

Students examine autobiographies and biographies through a series of reading and writing exercises. By writing journals during this semester-long course, they improve writing skills and discover their own voice. Among other activities,...

Tenth graders explore the self through a study of autobiographies. By writing daily in their journals, they improve their writing skills and write reflection pieces at the end of the year. Through a series of writing assignments, 10th...

Students use information from a visit to an historical exhibition to write stories about someone who lived during that time period.. They use handouts to record information to use in their writings. Students choose identities, real or...

Students explore how one artist portrays her own experiences and interests through her art. Students then choose themes in their own lives and create works of art inspired by those themes.

Seventh graders investigate the journalism techniques of professionals by identifying the 5 W's.  In this investigative writing lesson, 7th graders read several news articles and describe the format used for most news articles....

Students analyze the military, business, and political implications of Sun Tzu's book The Art of War. In this literature lesson, students read and discuss the novel prior to interviewing business people about business practices that...

After reviewing the eight rules for using quotation marks, class members complete worksheets as independent practice and review how these punctuation marks change the meaning of a sentence. Additional worksheets are provided for homework.