Map the classroom with your kids to help them understand how maps work and how to read them. The lesson starts off with a story about animals living and moving around the globe, and then kids create maps of their classroom to show how...

If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would you go? Use this question to interest your fourth, fifth, and sixth graders as they experiment with Mapquest or other direction-based resources. They choose where they'd like...

Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...

TV for homework? Your pupils' dreams have come true! After reading Sandra Cisneros's "Eleven," they analyze the elements of the story, particularly the plot and and climax. The lesson could work with any short story that you are using to...

Here is a well-designed graphic organizer which should help your readers organize the sequence of events from any story they read. The organizer should help any pupil who is trying to piece together events from a story for a book report.

First graders explore Chinese folktales. For this Chinese folktale lesson ,students read Chinese folktales, locate China on a map, and color the Chinese flag. Students are given sentence strips to hold and must arrange themselves in...

Young historians identify Harriet Tubman, her character traits, and role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. They create an escape map using map legends and the Cardinal directions. This plan utilizes one of my favorite video...

Looking for a good lesson on dictionary and word definition skills? The lesson presented here is for you! In it, learners utilize a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to record a word's definition(s), etymology, multiple meanings,...

Students are introduced to the Gopher research tools. In groups, they compare and contrast English and German services on the gopher servers. They create their own dictionary of computer related terms and spend time downloading picture...

Minnie Bruce Pratt's poem, "The Great Migration," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on how where we come from influences who we are. Groups conduct a close reading of the poem, recording observations about the poem's...

Urban communities are the focus of a series of lessons created to meet specific needs using differentiated instruction. A pre-assessment designates scholars into three groups based on their ability level. Small groups take part in...

Students write directions from a starting point to a destination using a map and ads from the Yellow Pages. They define the following terms using total body response or through the use of random objects: "right-hand," "left-hand,"...

Third graders problem solve using drawings and map interpretations. They preview graphs and Cartesian geometry. They follow directions on a map using a grid and compass references while simulating they are reading a pirate map.

First graders read and follow a map in a treasure hunt to find the location of the treasure. They demonstrate their knowledge/understanding of symbols, keys on a map, and directions by following the map with ease.

First graders examine what an apple orchard looks like and work with cardinal directions. In this apple orchard and direction lesson, 1st graders listen to Anne Rockwell's, Apples and Pumpkins, and Amy and Richard Hutchings', Picking...

Students improve their directional awareness by locating sites and symbols on a map. They increase their heart rates while traveling to each site and performing the specified task/exercise at each site.

Students explore the Civil War through original maps.  In this mapping activity, students calculate distance and show it on an original map. Students examine the type of landscape and its landmarks and draw symbols on the map.

Where do the coordinates lead? As children brainstorm ways to find the location of different buildings, they learn about coordinate points and how to use them to locate areas on a grid or map. They practice using ordered pairs by playing...

Young scholars explore and locate "The Stans" in Central Asia to create, write and illustrate maps, graphs and charts to organize geographic information. They analyze the historical and physical characteristics of Central Asia via...

Students plan a trip around the world and create a PowerPoint presentation of the journey. In this map, atlas, and technology lesson, students plan a trip around the world in which they avoid using an airplane. Students will consider...

Show your scholars how adding an affix changes the entire meaning of a word; they focus on the suffix -able. You'll find a complete script here, but if you don't want to read this verbatim, use it simply as an outline. Learners...

Learn about the diverse perspectives involved in the Six Day War by having learners examine and annotate presidential speeches given by the three nations—Egypt, Israel, and the United States—at the heart of the conflict and producing...

Letters have long been prized by historians as primary sources for what they reveal not only about events but also about the emotional responses of the writers to these events. "My Dear Little Boys," a letter written by Leonard Isacks on...

Second graders explore geography by completing a mapping activity in class. In this directional lesson, 2nd graders examine a map in class and utilize a compass rose to identify their location and destination. Students write directions...