Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...

Students investigate how Jews established roots in America. Students determine the difference between religious tolerance and separation of church and state. Students participate in a role-play activity using primary and secondary...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

To celebrate Texas, groups plan and create a commemorative map for a topic or theme in Texas history. The richly detailed plan and the approach could easily be adapted to any state. Samples are included.

Learners participate in a physical education activity, Mission Possible, where they attempt to steal a jug of jewels. They must successfully overcome five challenge areas to complete the activity. Students develop cooperative...

Become acquainted with Robert Frost's life in order to allow your class to fully appreciate how his background influenced his poetry. They analyze specified poems in relation to theme, setting and the use of imagery.

Fourth graders practice calculating area by creating a classroom quilt. Students are given a 6x6 inch square material they design based on a classroom theme. A sample of the class quilt is created using graph paper so students may...

Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...

Explore emotions associated with moving to a new home with young learners. First they listen to the books Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki and Going Home by Eve Bunting. Then they are invited to share their experiences as well as...

Introduce young actors to the key elements of performance with this handout that defines key staging terms and activities.

Identify various methods of assessment utilized in social studies classrooms. You will design non-traditional assessments for use in elementary-level social studies classrooms and discuss what assessment methods may be most appropriate...

Consider the theme of beauty with discussion about what makes person beautiful and the well-known short film put together by Dove skin care. Class members examine some of the images from the film and discuss the message of the...

Second graders discuss benefits of keeping physically fit, predict effects of exercise on their bodies, perform various exercises correctly, including push-up, curl-up, and jumping jack, discuss and follow safety practices while...

Using a variety of activities, kindergartners explore sorting and classification. Learners engage in an online sorting activity, read books involving classification, and create their own class book. This is a marvelousway to explore this...

Whether new to the KWHL strategy or not readers of Briar Rose will benefit from the detailed procedures and templates designed for Jane Yolen’s novel. Links are provided for research into the Holocaust and activities reveal the many...

Here is a very good instructional activity on magnets, magnetism, and magnitic fields that is chock full of great activities for you to implement with your young scientists. Learners discover the properties of magnets, look at the forces...

Here is an ambitious lesson plan which has learners take a look at which nations came up with the most important scientific inventions/advancements during the 20th century. Focusing on group work, cloning is explored. All of the...

After listening to a story about Martin Luther King Jr., first graders answer questions about the text. They discuss the importance of the illustrations, identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and complete a writing...

Young learners compare healthy foods to junk foods. They examine the growing process of a vegetable from a seed all the way to maturity. The book, The Magic School Bus in a Pickle is used. Some nice cross-curricular activities in math,...

Use a West African folktale to practice several different skills in your first grade classroom. Learners read The Clever Monkey Rides Again and focus on rhyming words, reading comprehension, measurement, art, movement, and word...

For each week of Lent, focus on a specific gospel passage, theme, and guiding question with your class members. Your pupils will engage in a variety of hands-on activities, discussion points, and worksheets following Jesus'...

Inntroduce primary learners to essential critical reading strategies with an activity based on James Reeves' poem, "The Wind."  Learners listen as the poem is read, first as a riddle, and then re-read with the title visible. The...

What would you do if you got an extra day every week? Partners share some information about their routines and lives and write compositions about one another based on the information. Each partner tries to guess what the other person...

Take time to appreciate the beauty in the anatomy of animals with this cross-curricular art and science activity. After viewing examples of fish-themed artwork, children complete the included worksheet by labeling the...