Students design their own emblem. In this introduction lesson, students get to know one another by designing an emblem that combines symbols that represent themselves. They express themselves to their classmates. 

Designed for teachers, this resource identifies problems learners face when attempting a research project and approaches instructors can use to help their class members overcome these obstacles. Suggestions are included for how to help...

Introduce budding scholars to the many types of academic plagiarism.  Potential plagiarizers develop a definition of the infringement and determine how it has been committed. The instructor provides the writing examples and...

Pupils can write down all of the major plot elements of My Antonia by Willa Cather on this straightforward worksheet. Learners note down themes, characters, the chain of events, and more.

Students work in the classroom and in the computer lab to produce a Personal Poetry Book.

Young scholars practice problem solving skills by asking questions and participating in a design challenge. In this asking questions instructional activity, students work in pairs to ask questions to design a solution for a difficult...

Small groups place sand and ice in a covered box, place the box in the sunlight, then observe as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation occur. These models serve as miniature water cycles and demonstrations of the three phases of...

Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set students on lines that are...

Students work with a partner from a different grade level to brainstorm, draft, edit, illustrate and publish alphabet-themed books. They take turns reading the books to each other and conference with a teacher to review their work.

Students explore quilting. They read and discuss the book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. They research African American quilting traditions on the Internet and name three common qualities in quilts. They create a quilt block...

Fourth graders conduct a novel study of the book Freedom Train North. They identify the parts of a story that include beginning, middle, and end. Students also recognize the setting, plot, and theme after reading a part of the book daily.

Ninth graders explore the life around Hannibal, Missouri, during the latter half of nineteenth century. They use various online and print resources to determine what effects this location had on the writings of Mark Twain. Students...

Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis lesson, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them. Students analyze...

Students demonstrate an understanding of words with multiple meanings. They give the meaning for each "trunk" in the sentence.

Students discuss the concept of peace and brainstorm ways to show peace. They read "Sadako & the Thousand paper Cranes" and discuss the theme of the story. After watching a video of "A Thousand Paper Cranes peace Project 1977,"...

Ninth graders read Romeo and Juliet. They complete a character analysis on one of the major players and present it in an informative and entertaining way. They rewrite and perform one scene from another character's point of view.

Students participate in activities to determine their macro process and elaborative process abilities. During macro processes readers organize and summarize ideas as they read. They look at the big picture of the entire text as well as...

Students are challenged to make three-dimensional time lines of story events from stories they have read. They practice sequencing events and writing sentences correctly. In addition, they write sentences that correspond with pictures...

Students, after reading and discussing the poem, Selflessness of Mind, by Joe Gutknecht, discuss specific recent acts of selflessness and then write a first draft paper on selflessness. They compare/contrast their own lives to the poem...

Students compare Noh drama to western drama and trace the influence of Japanese theater on modern western drama.  In this Noh drama lesson, students read the play Black Tomb (Kurozuko) defining the elements and conventions of Noh...

High schoolers know the meaning of a given list of figures of speech and stylistic devices. They identify examples of these terms in the music and songs with which they are familiar. They examine how to apply the knowledge of these terms...

Eighth graders create an informational card for a selected author. They read and analyze a book by their chosen author, conduct research about the author, and create an author card that includes a written critical response to the...

Students read and analyze books about elders and develop a set of interview questions. They define respect and ways to show respect to elders and conduct an interview with elders. Finally, students write an oral history of a senior...

Third graders, in groups, select and research a favorite studenT author or illustrator. They answer questions about the author, conduct research and prepare a PowerPoint presentation with their findings.