"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...

To conclude a study of social justice and tolerance designed to prepare classes for a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, class members brainstorm a safe and peaceful world. They then write about their own vision of this world.

First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...

What is true courage? Your class can explore the answer with these three Houghton-Mifflin stories ("Hatchet," "Passage to Freedom," "Climb or Die," and "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle"), which feature courageous characters and...

A lesson plan on the holiday known as Boxing Day is here for you. In it, middle schoolers read a passage about the history of the holiday, then complete some reading comprehension worksheets embedded in the plan to reinforce what they...

Students identify characters and events from the Ramayana. They discuss ways in whcih the images convey non-verbal information and messages. They discuss similarities and differences in the visual and verbal tellings of the Ramayana.

First graders recognize and write numerals from 1 to 10. They estimate and count to identify sets with more, fewer, or the same number of objects, listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts, and take turns speaking in a...

Students sort and compare apples before making apple prints. In this apple lesson plan, students use a painting to inspire art prints made with apple halves. Students compare and sort apples.

Learners examine a painting.  In this shapes and puzzle lesson, students view Guston's painting Blue Water and identify the colors, shapes and recognizable forms.  Learners work in groups to put together puzzle pieces of the...

Learners investigate shapes in art. In this visual arts lesson, students examine the ancient Panamanian "Plaque" and identify the geometric shapes in the art piece. Learners combine basic shapes to make an artistic picture of their own.

Pupils work in cooperative groups to explore communication needs of our world. They are assigned a demographic area and asked to create ways to solve communication problems with innovative ideas. They also explore areas that can help...

Explore the joy of math with you little learners! They practice creating math problems with numbers from a fact family using numbers 1-10. They work independently with a set of connecting cubes to aid them in creating number sentences...

Find the math in recipes. Young chefs will follow a recipe and investigate the total cost for materials. They measure amounts of food necessary for the recipe and compute the per person cost.

Art and architecture go hand-in-hand. Kids watch clips from the Hayo Miyazaki film Spirited Away to better understand Japanese customs and architecture. The discussion questions included are very good, and will help you lead the class in...

Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...

Even the littlest learners can become art historians if they have the right training. For the instructional activity, your preschoolers discuss the piece Long Jakes as they point out all the details they notice. They discuss what...

Imagine you are a Plains Indian, a nomad getting ready to follow a herd of buffalo. Now imagine what you would have to pack for your trip. Little ones examine images of a traditional parfleche (packing box), and then create packing lists...

Throughout time, innovators have taken basic ideas and changed them into creative and cutting-edge designs. Kids tackle the topic of innovations in relation to traditional or creative objects. They discuss traditional Navajo pottery then...

Give your young learners the chance to discover more about countries in their world community with a research project. Class members write reports on an assigned country and include such major features as geography, important historical...

How does a cheetah life cycle differ from a human life cycle? Kids graph weight gain for humans versus cheetahs and compare other life cycle events such as gestation and life span

Transform your classroom into the African savannah, a mountain range, the forest, and an urban environment! Young scientists embark on an imaginary field study observing various cat species in native habitats and recording in field guides.

First graders are introduced to the topic of researching by the librarian. Using a worksheet, they use various sources in the library to choose one animal from various groups. They complete a fact sheet on each animal and report their...

Students study ordinal positions through class reading and discussion, complete an Animal Parade activity sheet and Internet activity to demonstrate knowledge about ordinal positions with 100% accuracy, and play a math computer game.

Students graph different colors of rainbow fish scales after participating in a shared reading of The Rainbow Fish. They answer questions based on the graph. They practice making graphs independently using colored cereal circles.