Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...

Here’s the meatball in the bowl of spaghetti. Readers build a Lunatic Mystery Case Book, collecting evidence to support their prediction about the identity of the lunatic in Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech’s Newbery Medal winning novel....

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Fifth graders discover new and interesting technologies of the Civil War. In this Civil War portfolio of lessons, 5th graders analyze primary resources, develop new vocabulary, investigate websites, and create a time line of new...

Students investigate the link between countries' population growth rates and levels of industrialization. They observe that, over time, as a country becomes more industrialized, its population growth rate decreases.

Feel the freezing rush of an Alaskan sled dog race in this reading lesson. Using research about the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, seventh graders compare and contrast the depiction in the movie Iron Will. The lesson lasts for seven days...

Class members create a PowerPoint presentation showing artifacts they would include in a time capsule. The artifacts and explanations reflect personal hobbies, grooming choices, school life, etc. A great way for class members to...

Fourth graders combine art and history to assess the importance of the "Old 300." They explore a group of colonists that Stephen F. Austin brought to Texas as the first settlers and then create a time line of major events leading to the...

Here’s a fresh approach to establishing classroom rules at the beginning of the school year. Class groups brainstorm what they know about rules for baseball, basketball, and football. They then consider how the games would differ without...

Seventh graders explore the democratic republic principles of U.S. government. In this U.S. government lesson, 7th graders compare and contrast the governments of ancient Athens,the Roman Republic, and the United States today. Students...

Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in the American south during the depression era as they read Harper Lee's To Kill a...

Examine the three basic nutrients and their effects on the body. Fifth graders will research data to construct a bar graph and then  demonstrate the relationship between malnutrition and food security. This is a very comprehensive...

Students research space and gravity and understand the difficulties humans have while on the International Space Station. In this space lesson plan, students listen to personal accounts of astronauts on videos and present designs to...

Ancient Rome is the topic of this creative lesson plan. Students research Ancient Rome using the links provided, and then create a travel brochure using Microsoft Publisher. What a fun way to review facts on Ancient Rome!

Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...

Students identify both views on U.S. immigration policy. They write a persuasive essay defending either a liberal or restrictive immigration policy. Students identify the major laws regulating immigration since 1875. They create a...

Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...

Students gain a greater appreciation of women's contributions to history and culture. They product an iMovie based on the contributions of women.

A great resource for your unit on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Small groups conduct research about related topics (list included), write papers, present PowerPoint slide shows, and take a student-created test. Fill in a few...

This plan centers around the article "How Advertisers Persuade," although it is not included in the lesson plan itself. Get your class thinking about advertising, appeals, and techniques that companies use to get their products from the...

By engaging in an arts-based activity, 2nd graders explore peace in the classroom. They listen to the story The Rainbow Fish, then create their own fish to hang in the classroom. They write three things that make them happy on...

Synonym dominoes, anyone? As part of the activities designed for kids who have mastered the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit That's Amazing! kids are offered a variety of activities that include...

Students listen to and read legends and see that these legends helped the Aboriginals explain their everyday life. Through their stories and legends we find that Aboriginal values, attitudes and cultural identities are shared.

Pupils work in cooperative groups to explore communication needs of our world. They are assigned a demographic area and asked to create ways to solve communication problems with innovative ideas. They also explore areas that can help...