Fourth graders open the lines of communication between family members and to gain a historical understanding about family history. They research and interview their grandparents and parents and create a research paper.

Fifth graders research place names of one section of their state and create a chart to show their findings.

Students examine a selection of paintings by Jean-Francois Millet to explore both the objective and subjective levels of art critique.

Eighth graders study the basics of photography and practiced five different modes of writing, required seven photos.

Students write free flowing thoughts and feelings in their journals. They practice observation skills. They write using adjectives to describe an object. They choose a special button from among many unusual buttons.

Students take off one shoe and describe their shoe by writing a sentence about their shoe, to the satisfaction of the teacher.

Students create a classroom story quilt based on a story (or series of stories) read as a group.

Fifth graders read The Cay as a shared literature experience. This lesson plan has many good activities across the curriculum to keep your students actively engaged in the story. They will do math, art, music, science and geography...

Fifth graders read Sing Down The Moon independently and keep a journal where they write their reactions to the book. Students access websites imbedded in this plan and research a variety of other Indian tribes.

Middle schoolers explore the struggle that Kansans had over the slavery issue. They read a letter from John Brown to his family, and write a newspaper article about the Battle of Osawatomie from John Brown's perspective.

Students use the internet to access background information for their slide presentation based on the story- Shark Beneath the Reef.

Young scholars identify characters, their qualities, and examples of their qualities and use Inspiration to organize them in a clear and understandable format. After a lecture/demo, students use the program on the next story by themselves.

Second graders observe and describe several masks from different parts of Africa housed in the Smithsonian Institute (National Museum of African Art) Washington, D.C. They use the internet to view the Smithsonian's virtual exhibits.

Students interview local Native Americans to explore their history, culture, and contributions to the region. They contact a local Native American organization, conduct an interview with a volunteer and write thank-you notes.

Young scholars examine how illustrations complement poetry. They select a poem, illustrate their poem on the school sidewalk using chalk, and explore various poetry websites.

Students read a favorite poem and create a Power Point slide show depicting a visual interpretation of the images in the poem.