As this short story unit comes to a close, provide a day for a full examination of theme and allow some time in class for individuals to work on their various assessments. This final lesson before presenting iMovies and portfolios is the...

Give me more details. Scholars complete an end of unit assessment by creating an information text box to go with their field journal entries about howler monkeys. Learners use the class time to work independently.

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

Step into the great outdoors and develop young scientists' skills of observation with a nature journaling lesson. Given a specific focus or goal, children practice making and recording observations of nature through written descriptions...

Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...

In this writing prompt activity, students reflect on Thanksgiving Day. Students describe what the first Thanksgiving might have been like for the Native American and Pilgrims.

Students write about their interpretations of "Glow of the City," discuss "Glow of the City" in terms of imagery, symbolism, use of shadows and light, and ways that it reflects life in the late 1920s in New York.

Young academics create a current events journal by skimming newspapers for articles that fit defined guidelines for informational texts. After cutting out two articles each week to add to their journals, they write a brief description of...

Lights, shadows, action, and inquiry await your artistic scientists. They explore the way light travels, absorbs, reflects, and transmits through shadow play. They create folktale-inspired shadow puppets, explore the science of light,...

Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...

Students, after reading Fahrenheit 451, brainstorm inventions that could have been in the novel. They present their invention to the class and writing an expository essay about their creation.

What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this lesson, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about their ideas in a...

Using Claude Monet's On the Bank of the Seine as inspiration, young artists create their own postcards. During the lesson, learners discuss the techniques used in Monet's painting, as well as the woman in the painting, and...

Young scholars discuss creative writing—what makes something creative writing? Each learner starts writing a story and after 15 minutes, they pass their story to another who adds to it. After another 15 minutes of writing, the story is...

Shake hands with all of your class members, sending a different verbal message as you go along. Give them practice in expository writing by having them describe the handshake and how it makes them feel. This is an exploration of...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...

In this writing a podcast lesson plan, 7th graders create a podcast involving Ancient Greece. Middle schoolers follow a rubric and outline to create their podcast. Students present their podcast to their fellow middle schoolers.

Students conduct research on the Challenger Mission, develop written press releases and prepare a Press Conference skit. In this Public Speaking & Informative writing lesson, students research the Challenger Mission and prepare...

An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...

Eighth graders read about and reflect upon a variety of events that occurred during World War II. They conduct research on the Holocaust and Anne Frank's life, the attack on Pearl Harbor, American life during this time and the...

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.

Understanding the concept of equality is fundamental to the success of young mathematicians. To explore this basic idea, children compare the dots arranged in pairs of rectangles in order to determine whether or not they contain an equal...

Have a scary adventure with a set of reading activities based on Joanna Cole's The Magic School Bus Going Batty! Several worksheets encourage kids to predict what they will learn with a KWL chart, examine the new vocabulary...

Get your class thinking about advertising with this lesson plan. Over the course of 15 days, your class will discuss advertising techniques, study the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos, and analyze the persuasive techniques of...