Young scholars create a writing selection with a well-developed plot. They use a personal photograph in which they are visible to base their autobiographical writing. They write a description of the events surrounding the photograph in...

Students study the significance of flowers in art from two periods. In this Medieval and Renaissance art lesson, students research the presence and meaning of botanical illustrations in twelfth, thirtieth, and fourteenth century...

Third graders write and present a descriptive 'powergraph' that describes a secret object using prior knowledge of adjectives, clustering graphic organizers, and presentation skills. Authors read powergraphs and classmates 'Guess What It...

Shake it up! Shake your tablet to bring up a unique writing prompt for journaling or blogging with your class. Shake again and a new one appears. Prompts can come from different categories (sketches, scenes, texts, words, news) to help...

Sixth graders select a prose, poetry, or nonfiction excerpt from a book of their choice and share it by reading aloud to their classmates, who identify the genre and respond to related questions in their journals.

Third graders explore where South Africa is and then research details about the country to fully assess the background to the book, "At the Crossroads." They receive a map of Africa and color in the country of South Africa and list five...

Young scholars discover a connection between the genres of popular music and musical theater. They find and discuss musicals written in many different musical styles.

Students read excerpts from Jon Scieszka's novel, 2095, prior to presenting their vision of the future in a creative project accompanied by written explanation. They design a museum exhibit which shows a scene from a science fiction book...

Fourth graders listen to the book, THE GIVING TREE and discuss what genre category they believe the story fits into and why. They read of of the myths on the website on the computers and then come back together as a group and discuss...

Sixth graders can identify five basic elements that most mysteries contain. They put the elements of mystery into a graphic organizer they can follow. They construct meaning after reading Poe's short story and identify or infer the...

Learners begin the lesson by responding in their journals regarding questions about their favorite fairy tales. They listen to a folk tale and answer questions based on the folk tale genre and then brainstorm aphorisms that convey moral...

Students explore myths in ancient times.  In this mythology lesson, students read or view a video production of a myth to determine specific characteristics of myths. Students work in groups to write a myth that explains an...

Students identify the key characteristics that comprise American literary naturalism in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat." In this naturalism analysis lesson, students identify characteristics of the...

Students identify the elements of fiction, and work on compare and contrast skills.. In this comprehension lesson, students read different versions of Cinderella. Students use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the literary elements...

Students explore and play rhythm sticks while listening to songs from around the world. They locate the countries of origin on a map, and tap their rhythm sticks to the beat of the music.

Students examine the role of tone in a comedy play. They also discover how to paraphrase a passage and explain a character's point of view.

Students watch a video about the life of Latin singer/pop star, Shakira and identify the elements that make her music unique. They explore Latin music and dance and research the music and dance of a specific Latin American country.

Students explore the genre of poetry through centers. They listen to the sound of poems being read aloud, visualize individual poems and observe and apply line breaks in poetry.

Students apply reading comprehension skills to poetry and synthesize the information to create a new piece of work.

Learn more about Dr. Seuss in an author study activity. After young readers create a KWL chart on information they know about Dr. Seuss, they take on group roles, such as the researcher or recorder, to find out more about Dr....

Ninth graders watch soap operas online.  In this English instructional activity, 9th graders explore the story elements of the soap opera.  Students write a journal on their own interpretations of characters. 

First graders trave around the world celebrating St. Patty's Day and all things green! First, we start of in Ireland and travel our way down to Mexico for some green guacamole. They study dances from the two places.

Students engage in the writing process and differentiate between what is real versus fantasy. They identify the rhyming words and follow the steps of writing to complete the page for the class book. The prompt is checked looking for...

Second graders demonstrate the ability to examine the elements of a story (theme, plot, setting, mood) and characters, by discussing and writing about each. They have fun with chocolate related activities and enjoy reading about some...