How did early American pioneers decide what to take with them on their journeys, and what was their traveling experience like? Here you'll find a collection of activities to help you explore Westward Expansion with your young learners.

Despite the difficulty of travel, the US expanded significantly between the 1800s and the early 1900s. To prepare for a performance task assessment on the rapid expansion of the US in the 1800s, class members engage in a...

To gain insight into the American institution of slavery and how African Americans were viewed during this time, groups examine run-away slave ads and slave auction broadsides. Teams use the provided worksheet to record their impressions...

Organize the characters in Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic according to their shared character traits. After listing character traits as a class, kids note which characters exhibit particular characteristics with a...

Students examine Share Economy. In this economic studies lesson, students complete worksheets, watch videos, and have group/class discussions on the benefits and attributes of a share economy.

Young scholars listen to a story and are encouraged to read.  For this reading lesson students share tips on reading and complete a group activity.

Students discuss pre-reading focus questions and complete a KWL chart. In this language arts lesson, students mark passages or words they are unsure of with post-it notes to discuss later and answer comprehension questions after reading....

Students read and discuss the book, I Can Be An Archaeologist by Robert B. Pickering, and become archaeologists, themselves, as they examine, sort, and record items in a paper bag and trash from their classroom, as well as 2 others.

Eleventh graders analyze an advertisement. For this advertisement analysis lesson, 11th graders work in learning tiers to complete an analysis of the structure of the advertisement when compared to other text. Students complete a...

First graders investigate a story with the theme of The Thanksgiving holiday. The teacher reads the story to the class. The story is meant to help students to think of things they are thankful for. Students share the ideas in either...

High schoolers practice their reading aloud skills. They examine different careers that focus on public speaking. They also gather new tips to practice when speaking aloud.

Third graders read and analyze an article.  In this interpretation and summarizing lesson plan, 3rd graders listen to an article and identify the who, what, where, when and why of the article.  Students pick their own article,...

Students build word families. In this interactive language arts activity, students visit a website where they play a game creating word families. Students may print out their work when finished.

Pupils complete story maps in this lesson. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map for a book read...

Students practice their reading comprehension. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, students read or listen to a nonfiction article about meditation. This lesson plan includes discussion questions and comprehension questions.

Students use present tense verb endings by describing his/her routine daily activities, demonstrating verb endings. They listen to teacher's description, taking notes. They write their own journal entries about their own daily routines.

Students complete activities based on All About Owls written by Jim Arnosky, Owl At Home written by Arnold Lobel, and Owl Moon written by Jane Yolen.

Students listen and take part as teacher and classmates give a definition and examples of responsibility, then brainstorm what Arthur needs to do to prepare for his puppy's arrival. The story be read as a total group and then talked about.

Students identify at least one thing they can do immediately to promote reading after viewing the video "What students Need in Order to Read."

In this book report worksheet, students tell others why they should read a book. Students write a short essay on their favorite part of the book.

Students get to be creative in learning about baby animals. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop fine motor, math, and science skills as they sing, read, and share about baby animals.

Students complete acts of kindness. For this kindness and compassion lesson, students read books about acts of kindness and complete various activities each month to show kindness.

Students read the Nutrition Fact labels to make healthy choices. For this health lesson, students look at labels to identify fat content, protein, carbohydrates, and serving size. They play games with different labels such as Narrow It...

Learners identify geographical information about landscapes found in student literature, demonstrate an organizing tool, developed around geographical themes, for the recording of information, and share uses of this approach.