Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Nothing says classroom fun like an invertebrate and a magnifying glass! Snails, earthworms, and roly-poly bugs become the center of attention as pint-sized investigators hone their inquiry and observation skills. They are...

Movie theaters, shopping malls, television, the Internet ... no matter where people go, they are inundated with advertisements. Scholars discuss the topic of ad awareness using the first of four Admongo lessons about advertising. Pupils...

Introduce the background of design and designers and their role in communicating their thoughts to others. In groups, you can assign participation in a writing cluster on various designers and write paragraphs to submit to magazines. To...

As a review of persuasive techniques, groups develop a one-sentence slogan designed to entice others to purchase a produce or adopt a point of view. The group then craft a storyboard for a commercial for their product.

Studetns comprehend that confucianism is an important underlying philosophy permeating East Asian cultures. They also explore who Confucius was and what he taught, which helps them gain insight into East Asian cultures. Students...

Get ready to laugh with your class by reading the book Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School. After they read the book and do activities comparing their first day of school with Amelia' they will then have conversations around the story....

It's helpful to encourage kids to make predictions when beginning a reading unit. Before reading Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, have kids read Susan Barlow Broggi's Am I Grown Up When I'm Not Afraid of Spiders in My Shoes? to make...

Understanding the vocabulary in a text, especially a text like Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science that includes quite a few technical terms, can be the key to understanding the text as a whole. Learners focus on...

Here is an ambitious and engaging lesson that should help elementary schoolers begin to develop a basic understanding of human rights. Pupils are asked to think about their own rights, the rights of others, and how an individual's voice...

What kind of text features help children build a strong vocabulary? Class members use text features such as headers to unpack new vocabulary words. They create vocabulary journals in which they will write what they think the definition...

Your young learners will discover how muscular strength and endurance can increase with this truly hands-on activity! Beginning by writing an acrostic for the word strength, class members then engage in tracking their ability to squeeze...

A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...

Here, young historians compare their early lives to that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s. They listen to a read aloud of a story by Dr. King's sister, and then write in the provided reflective journal template. Lastly, they share their...

Learners explore the cultures and civilizations of Mesopotamia. They take a look at the factors that shaped the region, and study the history of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and other ancient wonders of the world. The class is divided...

How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...

Fourth graders read "Starting a Business" and answer the question: "How could you design an ad to let the community know about the business described in the story?" Then, they illustrate a written ad that could be posted in the...

Who were the founding fathers of the American Colonies? Engage in online activities, Internet research, and focused writing to find out. Students choose one colonial founder, conduct biographical research on the person, and take a quiz...

Start the year right with a series of activities about phonics, reading, winter exercises, and writing. Focused on snow and winter items, a month's worth of short lessons address various skills and keep your kids practicing language arts.

Introduce your class to the delights of nonsense poetry and explore literary devices with the writing of Edward Lear. Learners identify rhyme and meter as well as figures of speech, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in "The Owl and the...

Students complete different activities involving pedometers such as writing a creative story, calculating step averages, researching pedometers, calculating calories, and much more. 

The Learning Network is featuring an article about First Lady Michelle Obama and her quest to help reduce childhood obesity in America. The article talks about how she has talked with the top three suppliers of school lunches and has...

Use oral history as a way to help learners develop communication skills. They interview a trusted adult about their life as a young person, challenges they overcame, and what they are proud of. Learners are then interviewed themselves in...

As part of a discussion of The Last Lecture, class members engage in a gallery walk silent discussion by recording their responses to a series of questions and images posted about the classroom.