Young learners examine different places in their neighborhood using informational texts. First they identify a place that they like to play and predict if it will be in the nonfiction book Community at Play.They will share their favorite...

Third graders complete a variety of reading and writing activities related to the book "Flat Stanley." They create an illustration and write a short summary for each chapter, and write a letter and send a "Flat Stanley" to a friend or...

Teaching tools designed to support student-centered literature study. Geared toward homeschoolers reading Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, I would use these in my classroom. The materials are applicable to any text: graphic...

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a...

After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...

Introduce young readers to historical fiction with Karen Hesse's novel, Out of the Dust. They'll view photos taken during the Dust Bowl years, meet the author, and even hear an excerpt from the book. A plot summary and three book talks...

Although this legislative process lesson is designed to accompany a specific text, it is valuable independently. Young learners participate in a picture walk (worksheet included) through My Senator and Me: A Dog's-Eye View...

Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...

Young scholars examine their geography skills. In this weather forecasting lesson, students select a location and research it. Young scholars write a weather report or forecast for the chosen location based on their research.

Ads here, ads there, ads everywhere—but what do they communicate? Pupils discuss this topic and develop a list of personal values. They then work as creative directors at an advertising firm to create billboards that reflect community...

Sixth graders discover the importance of information sources by researching the United States History.  For this research gathering lesson, 6th graders examine a historical painting of George Washington and analyze what it means,...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

Fourth graders explore the main characters in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. In this Hatfield-McCoy lesson, 4th graders gather information about the feud from the Internet and books. Students research the main characters involved and write a...

After reading about the life of George Moses Horton, the first slave to publish anti-slavery poetry, learners will recall his major accomplishments, provide a summary of the obstacles he faced, and identify common aspects of the...

Sit back, relax, and transport to 1787! This instructional activity on the Constitution begins with guided imagery of the Constitutional Convention. The class reads A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our...

Fourth graders write a diary entry. In this journaling lesson students examine a 1880's primary source document. Students read about a young girl visiting her Aunt in rural Indiana. Students write about what they did in the last day.

Using a Chinese-English phrase book from the late 19th century, learners view a glimpse of life on the frontier for a Chinese immigrant. They work in groups and on their own to analyze and summarize the content of various phrases, given...

Your special education students can memorize their personal information. In order to master their personal information, they create a photo book to help them remember names, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, then take pictures to...

Students discover the postal service through a letter writing activity.  In this U.S. Government lesson, students read the book Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers, and discover the life history of President Abraham Lincoln.  Students write...

Students research Ancient Egypt using a specific letter of the alphabet as a guide. In this Ancient Egypt instructional activity, students independently research their assigned topic using ProQuest or other research software. Once...

Pupils have the unique opportunity to learn about the institution of slavery by reading first-hand experiences as described by George Moses Horton, the first slave to publish anti-slavery poetry.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's plea for abolition is not only laid plain in her acclaimed novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, but in her written correspondence as well. High schoolers read a letter written by Stowe to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria to...