As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...

Second graders interact with the story of Alexander's horrible day by connecting it to their lives. They practice predicting, writing paragraphs, reading aloud, discussing his problems, making a card to cheer him up, and designing a pair...

During Christmas time, use common carols and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker music as the basis for writing advertisements. Learners can work in teams or individually as they listen to songs via the links provided. A "Christmas Music Comparison...

Fifth graders will enhance their typing skills and practice using Pages, a software for Mac computers, by writing their own children's book. Note: This lesson plan refers to a template that is not included, however, you can adapt this...

Support scholars' ability to write complex sentences with a two-page learning exercise designed to inform and reinforce. Here, learners obtain a brief overview of what a complex sentence is and how one is made; then apply their new-found...

Engage young ones and explain grammar with the folk tale Monkey and Rabbit Together. Using a list of verbs from the story, young readers work on verb participles and proper speech habits. The story itself is not included. Social studies...

Using the states as a hook, kindergartners identify beginning sounds. They identify the initial sound in words like Mississippi and Indiana and complete a set of worksheets related to this skill.

In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...

Introduce S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders with a bell work journal that asks class members to define loyalty. Key words (patience, unity, honesty, caring, etc.), drawn from their musings, are posted around the room, and groups search for...

What would you do if you found a monster watching your TV? Take a walk on the scary side with a fun cloze reading activity. As kids read the passage, they use the words on the bottom of the page to fill in the eight blank...

Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.

Learners discover how art auctions have become competitive after reading an article from The New York Times. Students voice their opinions about specific examples of modern art and create trading cards based on their research of...

In this vocabulary and word study worksheet, students explore the prefix trans- as they match 10 words to the correct definitions. Students may also complete the challenge question at the bottom of the sheet.

The Learning Network section of the New York Times produces high-quality teaching materials. This issue gets middle or high schoolers reading an article about how people use art to express their response to high-stress events. They work...

Young scholars first explore the power of the visual image to convey a message by examining the portrait of George Washington on American dollar bills. They next use, 'Prolific Chinese Painter Is Anonymous No More,' to explore a famous...

In this online interactive literature instructional activity, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses. Students may check some of their answers online.

Fourth graders practice writing outlines. Using worksheets imbedded students get lots of practice enhancing their skills writing outlines

Students develop their social skills and learn what it means to be responsible. In this responsibility lesson, students read a book about the topic, discuss the book, and list reasons why to act responsibly. Students work in groups to...

Students bring baby pictures of themselves. They discuss composition in art and compare these to their pictures. Students discuss mood, and ways an artist creates mood. They create a triptych using their baby picture, a recent photograph...

Students explore the world of fractal images and the mathematics behind them. They explore fractal sites on the Internet. They create their own fractal designs. They publish a calendar displaying their favorite fractal art.

Sixth graders study and identify the elements of a story such as. setting, character, plot, and theme, using two versions of the folktale Little Red-Riding Hood. They use the Internet to locate more information on the author Ed Young.

Students read a selection and identify the vocabulary words for the current week. Individually, they use the words to write in complete sentences and put the words into a database. They also practice their typing skills and must keep...