Students research and use their discoveries to create a computer presentation and a quilt block on Nebraska. They will tell the story of Nebraska in an oral presentation using each piece of the quilt.

Students examine the many disasters in West Virginia. In this US history lesson, students write about and give an oral presentation of one of the disasters as if they were reporters.

Students are introduced to representative works of various artists including Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Sonia Delauny, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro and Henri Rosseau. They read books, participate in discussion and create original works of art.

Students read and analyze the novella, "Raise the Red Lantern," by Su Tong. They compare/contrast the story with other works of literature, answer discussion questions, conduct research, and in small groups develop oral presentations.

Students use communicative activity strategy, Go, Ask and Tell, or more traditional whole text comprehension activity to read, discuss and explore issues in article, Free Speech Comes at a Price, by Hugh Mackay.

Students read a story entitled, "The Window," and discover how some cultures are rejected by others. Students write a letter expressing feelings of rejection and keep a journal of significant events in the story. Using a graphic...

Third graders write and present a descriptive 'powergraph' that describes a secret object using prior knowledge of adjectives, clustering graphic organizers, and presentation skills. Authors read powergraphs and classmates 'Guess What It...

Fifth graders participate in read aloud activities of three books about life in Colonial times. They compare their life to that of children of Colonial times using a Venn diagram. They draw a picture and write about what a day in the...

Students describe and illustrate pollution and how to clean up pollution. They display their solutions by creating posters, signs, bumper stickers, slogans, T-shirt designs, commercials and poetry. This activity ties in with 'A River Ran...

Students listen to excerpts from an autobiography about the first blind man to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. They discuss Erik Weihenmayer's life, and write a bio-poem using a bio-poem formula.

Engage and entertain young learners with this collection of readers theatre activities. With over 25 different scripts, a wide range of topics are covered from simple counting and rhyming exercises to adaptions of popular children's...

Students develop a greater understanding and appreciation for their families. They increase personal self-esteem and pride as a result of studying about families through literature. They assess the importance of family values and...

High schoolers investigate the evolution of the King Arthur stories and analyze them as a window into the culture that preserved them. They trace the legends through their earliest versions through medieval and Victorian times and into...

Thor, Loki, Iron Man, and Captain America. As part of their study of Greek and Roman gods and heroes, middle schoolers compare the characters in The Avengers to Greek counterparts. Individuals then create their own superhero,...

Students listen to Japanese folk songs to get inspired to create a writing piece about Japan.  In this writing lesson, students use primary and secondary sources to add information about Japan. 

Second graders listen to and dicuss the story Where the Wild Things Are. They play a pantomime game and act out various feelings so their classmates can guess. They listen for the frequency of certain words, and record their findings on...

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...

Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...

Students explore the concept of a community. They identify and group various kinds of communities. Students create a concept map exemplifying their membership in different communities. They write a narrative describing their...

Students play Kansas Symbols Bingo. In this Kansas history instructional activity, students review the 8 state symbols: buffalo, wheat, cottonwood tree, honeybee, meadowlark, salamander, sunflower, and turtle. Students then...

Students examine the amount of biodiversity in the state of Illinois. They practice using new vocabulary and listening to stories about animals. After given time to reflect, they write their own haiku. They work together to create a...

Students navigate Doodle Splash to create a painting.  In this doodle splash instructional activity, students explain their splash painting relationship to a piece of literature.

Aesop’s Fables offer young learners an opportunity to study figurative language. After reviewing theme, simile, alliteration, and metaphor, model for your pupils how to identify examples of these devices in the fable. Class members then...