Students analyze the format and structure of various newspaper articles. Then, they rewrite events from literature into news stories about acts of kindness.

Students view a PBS Nature program about big-wave surfing and participate in a class discussion about their experiences with surfing, body boarding, or body surfing. Students create a drawing based on a reading and post their art around...

Students participate in a variety of activities in a thorough study of the play, Cyrano De Bergerac. They discuss the themes of the play and how they relate to their own lives. They produce and perform their own interpretation of the...

Fourth graders locate the poetry section of the LMC. They produce a hand written transparency based on the poem Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Students illustrate a poem from their poetry section. It is a mystery to them what...

Students use maps and lecture notes to discover the diverse history of the state of Michigan. After gathering their information, students develop interview questions that might be used to interview an elderly person in their community.

Fifth graders draw and color unique scenes from their own versions of fairy tales, and create pop-up books.

Seventh graders complete a unit on the French and Indian War. They conduct an Internet document search and use what they find to complete a document based essay about the war.

Ninth graders examine the use of corporal punishment in Canada. In groups, they make their own advertisement trying to persuade others to support or disagree with the practice. They also write a persuasive essay and draw an image...

Young scholars brainstorm in preparation for writing an expressive essay. They review their responses to 'Writing from Experience' and write notes and brainstorm other ideas or details for their essays. They take turns illustrating their...

In this C.S. Lewis instructional activity, students answer eight short answer comprehension questions and define six words. Students can define twenty extra credit vocabulary words.

Students develop a sense of historical empathy as they discuss The Holocaust and roll play activities designed to highlight prejudice in today's society.  In this Holocaust history and The Diary of Anne Frank lesson, students...

Fourth graders discuss the events involved in the sinking of the Titanic and plot them on a timeline. Focus be on the involvement of Margaret Tobin Brown, Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Young scholars read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.

Students compare and contrast specific characters in the book, "Old Henry." They discuss similarities and differences between people and define character traits. They assess one's own character traits and have a class discussion about...

One of the more difficult literary concepts to teach is irony, especially ironic point of view. Not only do students often miss the subtle linguistic clues, they become distracted by the issue of author's intent. Whether it's the classic...

This lesson, inspired by Gary Paulsen's My Life in Dog Years, helps students write memoirs or narratives about their lives through the eyes of a pet, a favorite pair of jeans, or their shoes. Students choose one item that is very close...

Every successful ad has a unique selling point even if you don't think there is one. Tips on how to determine/create USP for any product or service. Very readable & puts viewpoint across in interesting & memorable manner.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Explain that even if two texts are written about the same topic, they can have different information depending on the author's perspective or the source of the information. When we compare two texts on...

The viewing goals for this lesson plan were for young scholars to use a visual text, Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech (played first without sound), to identify visual cues & understand why he may have chosen to use...