Welcome to the Great Marshmallow Challenge. To conclude a unit study designed to help scholars develop teamwork and collaboration skills, groups are charged with developing a free-standing structure using only one marshmallow,...

Students turn cardboard boxes into outdoor dramatic play. In this early childhood visual arts lesson, students explore cooperative and dramatic play outdoors by challenging children to create a train from cardboard boxes.

Pique your pupils' interest before reading Peter and the Starcatchers with an anticipation guide. Given a list of 10 statements, learners choose true or false based on what they think the book is about. They then discuss in small...

For any teacher of American History, The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a watershed event that should be shared with your learners. This is a very good lesson on the Expedition, and the events that led up to it; including The Lousisiana...

What rights do citizens in a democracy have? Learners compare the rights of citizens in the United States and Croatia, and examine the personal and civil responsibilities that go along with those rights through a great series...

Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...

A lesson centers itself around the topic of family roles. A whole-class discussion uses puppets and posters to go in-depth into the following character traits; caring, responsibility, respect, and cooperation. The discussion closes with...

Sooner or later, the learners in your class are going to move on to college and the professional world. Help them organize their goals with a project designed for groups, which prompts them to examine entry points and next steps for...

What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...

Every political system has advantages and disadvantages. To gain an understanding of these differences, groups investigate the political system of another country—oligarchy, monarchy, dictatorship, parliamentary—and prepare a...

Reinforce the concept of fractions and decimals as part of a whole with a lesson that begins with a mixed review, then goes into a three problem guided practice, and ends with a collaborative activity. The guided practice and activity...

Do these items have the same ratio? Through a learning contract, pupils master proportions by practicing proportions via word problems, graphs, and with manipulatives. An exit ticket checks for understanding at the end of the...

A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...

Scholars reflect upon their reading strengths and challenges to create personal reading goals. Participants use goal-setting verbiage in an accordion-style graphic organizer, a first step in writing a letter that details their reading...

Not only do extracurricular activities look good on a college application, they can foster important life skills. From sports to volunteering to employment, extracurricular activities can inform your learners' experiences...

Every hopeful in your class has gone through some kind of life change, from parents' divorce to a death in the family to moving up into another grade. Encourage them to discuss these changes, the skills they used and acquired...

Creating story quilts is a great way to combine art, social studies and literature. Kids select a story, a published one or one of their own, to illustrate, paint on a canvas square, embellish, and mount on a felt backing.

After completing three body paragraphs of an argument essay about life's rules to live by from Bud, Not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis, it's time to begin writing the introduction and conclusion. Independently, pupils draft the final two...

A three-part lesson gives light to the Unites States expansion from the view of Texans, New Mexicans, and Californians. Through videos and written activities, scholars work collaboratively to research specific individuals and their...

Elementary schoolers engage in a literature study. They make comparisons of two different versions of a story using a graphic organizer. Using the text and pictures elementary schoolers investigate three elements from the story. Then,...

Groups of learners work cooperatively to perform research, and compile a presentation for the class on a selected Nevada Indian Tribes. Some of the topics researched are territorial movements, religion, social life, recreation, and food...

One of Aesop's fables begins with a lesson plan about cooperation and teamwork. Scholars listen carefully, taking note of the moral of the story. The class discusses their findings and why working with others makes work easier. Learners...

Learners compare and contrast sine and cosine graphs in order to describe their characteristics in a collaborative activity. As they explain their reasoning, learners strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills associated with...

A two-part lesson has scholars researching the stereotypes in portraying women and girls in the media and the impact of these representations. To conclude the lesson, participants write a letter of praise to sources that present positive...