Reinforce the concept of one-to-one correspondence with a Valentine's Day-themed counting and color sorting activity. Scholars sort foam hearts by color—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple—then count and place them on a number...

How can you teach a text to a group of readers who struggling with the language? The second in a set of three ESL lessons related to Theme 4: Problem Solvers engages English language learners by introducing vocabulary and grammar...

When it comes to reading and understanding a text, sometimes readers need extra help. The third and final resource in a series of guides to accompany Theme 4: Problem Solvers provides additional activities to help struggling learners....

Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's...

Five questions challenge scholars to make inferences after reading a poem, "Picture-Books in Winter" by Robert Louis Stevenson. 

Does pajamas rhyme with llamas to you? If it does (and even if it doesn't), an online lesson on rewording poetry for regional pronunciation may be helpful for you and your students.

Would you believe marine animals can make their own light? An online resource describes the process of bioluminescence and how animals in the ocean use it to survive. The lesson features a catchy tune that describes the behavior of ocean...

For many high schoolers, what they want to be when they grow up can be very intimidating. Here's an activity that gets them thinking about their interests and how they might connect these interests to future jobs. After watching a short...

Gather the entire family (or class members) for a fun Harmony Break! A volunteer thinks of a color from their Mood Meter that they will express by singing, playing an instrument, or performing a dance. After the performance, the audience...

Little ones learn the tones mi, so, and la by singing an answer to a sung question. They play a name game to identify beat, then discuss songs with no beat. If there is time during this musical instruction lesson, they dance about the...

Instruct your young musicians on the terms verse and refrain. They listen to two songs, and point out the verse and refrain as they occur. Students then play drums when they hear the verse and the refrain. Note: Song lyrics, sheet music,...

Practice using different ways to express a single pattern. The class uses concrete, pictorial, and numerical modes to represent patterns found in a simple rhyme. They will move their bodies, use body percussion, draw, and use numbers to...

Present information about simple sentences and compound sentences. Learners use this information to complete a quick exercise and as background for learning about sentence combining. 

Third grade musicians play Orff instruments while they learn about the AB Form. First they learn part A of a song, then they listen to when the song changes. After they understand the concept of AB form, they learn to play part B. Note:...

Students perform a song using correct posture, correct rhythms, and accurate pitches. They read musical notation and lyrics of various patriotic tunes, analyze the purpose and meaning of patriotic songs, discuss the social and cultural...

Students hear a melody, play in their instruments and write it down on manuscript paper. They correct their melody and play from their own manuscript paper. Students continue this procedure at least once a week.

Readers answer 8 multiple choice questions by selecting the correct revisions to the paragraph provided. The focus is on prepositions, syntax, and parts of speech. A good, quick exercise for ELL classes or review for middle schoolers.

Students examine the correct attitudes and poster for a concert. In this "Singing for Animals" instructional activity, students created charts to diagram information about the homeless animals they were singing for. Students used correct...

Don't have a keyboard in the classroom but still want to teach piano theory? No problem! Learners engage in "silent practice" as they play classic songs like "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on a printed keyboard image. Use the images on the...

Woody Guthrie will capture the imagination of even your most reluctant learners. Using his work, your class will develop their skills in non-fiction reading comprehension, interpreting primary source material, and use of multiple forms...

Here is an interesting lesson that tells the story of Edward Jenner, who came up with an immunization for smallpox. After watching a video that describes him, learners use an outline of a man to draw his picture and write down some facts...

Fifth graders listen to and discuss the music of the Civil War Era in order to better explain society during this time period. They identify the musical instruments and write their own word to accompany the music of one of the songs.

Students perform a song, identify melodies, and discuss the history of folk songs.

High schoolers discuss the musical genre of spirituals and its influence on our musical history. They perform various songs, and read the student score for, Down By the Riverside.