Readers create a literary scrapbook for one of the characters in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and fill it with mementoes, journal entries, letters, etc. A great way to get kids to think about characterization.

Class members are asked to consider how they would respond to situations faced by characters in Great Expectations. After completing one exercise as guided practice, individuals are presented with a second problematic situation and...

“The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” Prediction, verification, judgment, and extensions of thought are all part of a Directed ReadingThinking Activity (DRTA) developed for Measure for Measure. The rationale, assessments...

As an introductory activity to Mississippi Trial, 1955, class members use color-coded dots to respond anonymously to a series of statements about prejudice and responsibility to their fellow-man that are posted about the room. The...

To prepare for a reading of Christopher E. Crowe's Mississippi Trial, 1955, class members create a KWHL chart and begin by generating questions they have about the civil rights movement, slavery, and the death of Emmett...

What would you do? To prepare for the final scene from Arthur Miller's The Crucible, readers are presented with a series of moral dilemmas and asked to consider what they would do in the same situations.

What to wear? Help your special needs class make independent choices about what they should wear during various weather conditions. They'll discuss weather-appropriate clothing, dress dolls for the weather outside, and even put on a...

Staying clean is a big part of staying healthy and looking good in the community. Personal hygiene and napkin use are the focus of this activity. Your class will eat a messy food, look in a mirror to see if their face is messy, then...

What are the best foods to eat, and how much is too much? Kids discuss the importance of eating the right amount of each of the four food groups. They discuss the food pyramid and make meals by cutting and pasting foods from a magazine...

Everybody needs to know how to make healthy choices when it comes to food. Understanding food labels is the first step. Using empty food packaging, you'll discuss what food labels are, what information can be found on them, and how to...

Strengthen the bonds of friendship within your class with a reading of E.B. White's award-winning novel, Charlotte's Web. Focusing on the unique characters in the story and the relationships they develop, young readers draw...

Class members take on the role of jurors in this guided imagery activity designed to be used with chapter 15 of Mississippi Trial, 1955. 

Readers of Avi's young adult novel, Nothing But the Truth reflect on events in the story through a series of journal responses.

Pupils investigate the move to federation by the Australian colonies was abject of the displays of nationalism that characterized similar movements in other nations. Most notions regarding federation were treated with little serious...

Walk your class through the journey water takes once it leaves your kitchen sink, all the way through the water cycle. Demonstrations support your lecture. This plan is thoroughly written, but ideally you would follow it up with water...

Pupils explore the change in values from the 1920's to the present. In groups, students use the internet to analyze Pete Rose and gambling in sports. The 1919 scandal of the World Series is explored and discussed by pupils. They compare...

Did Hiibel's arrest and conviction for not telling a police officer his name violate his rights? Have your learners read a short description of the case and answer the comprehension questions that follow. Resource links and...

Bridge the gap between health and food for your special needs class. Through discussion and handouts, they will be introduced to the basics regarding the vitamins and minerals we get from eating healthy foods. They work to identify...

Students discuss the act of selection as a central component in contemporary art making in this visual art lesson ideal for the high school or junior high classroom. Emphasis is placed on the artwork of Duchamp and contemporary artists.

Who is a champion to your class? Elementary and middle schoolers think of a role-model from their lives. Then, in their journals, they write evidence of that person's perseverance. They identify the character trait of perseverance with...

Young scholars examine their classroom to find examples of various types of shapes. After identifying and describing the various shapes, they draw as many as they can on a piece of paper. They organize them into an image based on their...

Students analyze demographic data (growth rate, natural increase, fertility rate, crude birth rates, and crude death rates) and determine which areas of the world contain the fastest and slowest growth rates. They construct population...

What was your most (exciting, maddening, nervous, thrilling, etc.) experience in school? A part of a unit on narrative writing, in this activity class members review the elements of the form and then choose an event when they learned a...

A fan of magic squares vocabulary activities? Readers use terms drawn from Gary Paulsen’s Canyons to complete an exercise. The worksheet, an answer sheet, as well as complete directions for crafting a magic square, are included.