Fourth graders explore reading strategies through roleplaying. In this reading lesson, 4th graders read Wings, Stings, and Wiggly Things by Martin Jenkins. Student groups pretend to be a law firm and identify words as their evidence to...

“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...

How do you represent a tragic event? Are stories of tragic events better left untold? After reading chapter two of Maus and studying other representations of the Holocaust (suggestions are included), class members create a representation...

Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...

The perception of rhythms by reading and the ability to auditorily discriminate these rhythm patterns by listening to them performed by the teacher is practiced here. your students will work to create an eight-beat long rhythm pattern.

Before reading Chapter Six, "The Platinum-Blond Man" in Matilda, readers preview the illustration of Mrs. Wormwood dropping her plate of food, and think about what may have happened to cause the scene. After reading the chapter, class...

With the Common Core State Standards' growing focus on informational text, it's the perfect time to showcase this PowerPoint to your team of teachers. It's 59 slides focus on seven best practice structures: reading-as-thinking,...

Get your class going on one of the final assessments for a unit on short stories by introducing iMovie and its main features. In this tenth instructional activity in a series of fourteen, pupils take some time to explore iMovie before...

Introduce your young thespians to the elements of drama! Key vocabulary helps them through their first week of class. The presentation outlines parts of a script, stage direction, and strategies for reading a script. Tip: The strategies...

An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative lesson designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the play,...

Sixth graders analyze the primary force that drives a character's actions in a character analysis lesson. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze how characters present their actions and participate in a group activity...

Students demonstrate ability to sight read rhythms containing half, quarter and eighth notes and quarter rests; by clapping and chanting rhythms written on chart 1.

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

"Tone means attitude." Or so says this resource that uses Jordan Pruitt's "One Love" to model for songwriters how to develop an attitude in their lyrics. Class members engage in a number of exercises designed to give them direct and...

Students interview a brick sculptor and aid in building a brick wall. They write expository paragraphs explaining the sequential process of building a reading wall. They create reading wall sketch designs. Students carve their names and...

First graders explore reading comprehension by reading Curious George books in class. For this vocabulary expansion lesson, 1st graders read the book Curious George Takes a Job and analyze the easy vocabulary terms as well as "tier 2"...

Students investigate color words. In this vocabulary, high frequency words, and technology lesson, students visit various websites to practice reading color words. Students listen to Eric Carle books and observe the illustrations,...

Make origami ducks with your class to reinforce geometry concepts and vocabulary; develop fine motor and visual translation skills; and enrich study of Japanese culture, the pond habitat, or migration. Create a whole group "worksheet"...

Get your class up and moving as they explore how to express movement and dance through words. Designed around two poems by Lillian Morrison about break dancing, the activity truly captures the creative and multi-sensory aspects of...

Students discuss the difference between primary and secondary sources and consider how an exhibit is researched. They design and create a montage that reflects themselves in a social and historical context.

Students dramatize the formation of mountains. For this earth formation dramatization lesson, students read Anne Issacs', Swamp Angel, and research the how the layers of the Earth move to form landforms. They work in groups to dramatize...