Amelia Earhart's accomplishments and strength of character extend beyond her status as one of the first female aviators in America. Elementary and middle schoolers learn about Earhart's early life and the historical context surrounding...

Show your class the difference between primary sources and secondary sources. The first page provides a list of examples of each type of source. While they research, pupils can refer back to the list quickly to make sure they are reading...

Plagiarism, copyright, and fair use are the focus of a three-part instructional activity designed to inform scholars of how to properly cite others' work. First, pupils use a KWL chart to begin thinking and...

Alphabet insects! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Get ready because your class is going to research insects that start with a specific letter of the alphabet. In small groups, they'll use the Internet and reference texts to locate...

Close up your unit of study with an examination of one of the guiding or essential questions as it relates to what your class has studied and other research. Class members first write down the question. Then they note down information...

Designed specifically for lower elementary pupils, this is a great biographical research project in which students research a famous American, and then design creative poster boards to help them "become" the famous...

Third graders develop encyclopedia skills to locate information. In this Jan Brett library lesson, 3rd graders research animals in the encyclopedia and complete a worksheet on one animal. Students relate their work to the work of Jan...

Students create a list of items with indented text block definitions in an HTML document. They produce a bibliography with a definition list.

Second graders demonstrate how to use reference materials. In this library media lesson, 2nd graders are introduced to the encyclopedia and are shown how to use the encyclopedia as a reference. Students use encyclopedias to complete a...

Second graders explore the purpose of a dictionary. In this library media instructional activity, 2nd graders explore My First Dictionary and identify guidewords, entry words, and captions. Students list ways they can use the dictionary.

Students discuss reasons to use reference materials, identify correct reference material to use for specific information, find answers to specific questions by locating information in encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, almanac, glossary,...

Fourth graders, in groups, research states and using various print and nonprint reference materials. The groups make a presentation to inform the class about all the information from the state. This lesson plan provides imbedded support...

Students participate in an online scavenger hunt using the parts of a book to locate information. In this reference materials lesson, students locate the title, subtitle, table of contents and glossary. Students then create...

What are the differences between homeschooling, traditional schooling, and unschooling? Middle and high schoolers examine the opinions of their peers on these varied types of education. After reading a New York Times article, they...

Students practice memorizing the seven days of the week and keeping them in order.  In this calendar lesson plan, students read aloud the book Today is Monday by Eric Carle, and create their own calendar style book using...

Students research and design an educational earthquake Web site, using the current disaster in Afghanistan as a starting point. They begin by reading and discussing As Many as 2,000 Feared Dead in Afghan Earthquakes which is imbedded in...

Explore text structure with a focus on the glossary feature in informational texts. Learners read a brief introduction before examining a glossary from a text about plants. They reference it while completing four comprehension questions....

Has your school adopted the MLA style for documentation? If so, use this instructional activity to assess whether or not your class members know the rules. Young researchers complete of series of documentation exercises using the MLA...

Second graders complete a KWL chart about libraries. They create a book using writing patterns of a particular author. Students decide criteria for awarding the Second Grade Librarian Award to books in the classroom library, and use a...

Students research the basic cultural information available on the various Native American cultures of Utah. They investigate the historical time period, shelters, weapons, tools, foods and methods of obtaining food.

Students create tri-fold biographical brochures. Each of the sections of the brochure refers to either the past, present or future of the student. They use the back of the brochure to list ways to be successful in high school and reach...

Go beyond simply telling students to improve their work ethic and study habits with this complete lesson on developing study skills! 

Students examine character traits and apply characteristics of those traits to images and quotations. They design, save and print using a desktop publishing program. They utilize reference tools to locate quotations.