The post-Civil War convict leasing program, rarely covered in textbooks, is the focus of a instructional activity that asks class members to use information drawn from primary source documents to assess the program. While the focus is on...

Staying clean is a big part of staying healthy and looking good in the community. Personal hygiene and napkin use are the focus of this activity. Your class will eat a messy food, look in a mirror to see if their face is messy, then...

Nails can get really dirty really fast. Prepare your special education class for life on their own by introducing them to a regular nail care routine. They discuss why it is important to care for your nails and practice washing,...

Creating buildings that reach hundreds of feet into the sky is no easy task. The third instructional activity in this series begins with four activities that engage young architects in exploring the major challenges that are faced when...

How far would your pupils go to be able to have access to books? Revisit Heather Henson and David Small's That Book Woman and challenge class members to take on the role of Cal or the Book Woman. By putting themselves in someone else's...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

“. . . one man in his time plays many parts,/His acts being seven ages.” Jaques famous speech from Act II, scene vii of As you Like It sets the stage for an examination of the roles people play. Class members not only consider the roles...

Just like a painting or the symbols on a flag, quilts can express ideas that reflect a cultural context, space, and time. The class discusses the history of quilt making throughout US history and what different types of quilts mean. They...

What kind of text features help children build a strong vocabulary? Class members use text features such as headers to unpack new vocabulary words. They create vocabulary journals in which they will write what they think the definition...

Same and different, sorting, and tactile discrimination are what's on the agenda for today. The class practices sorting objects and attempts to determine which objects are the same and different and why. The purpose is to increase...

Metaphors, the definition of, types of, and examples of, are the subject of a short video that models for viewers this grand poobah of literary terms. Colorful images and animations are used to illustrate the connections between...

Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...

Young mathematicians concentrate on learning to fluently count. Following the rules of the classic game Memory, children take turns flipping over cards in order to find pairs of numbers that cross a decade (e.g. 29 and 30). For younger...

Mark the days of January with cute penguins and snowmen. From the first day of the month to the last day, your class will love checking off the cold days of winter.

Elementary magnetologists investigate magnetic shields using a variety of materials in a "shielding sandwich." While the activity isn't novel, it is engaging, and this particular resource includes a brief explanation of the phenomena...

Engineering design projects serve as great opportunities for collaborative problem solving. In this case, students work in small groups designing, building, and eventually testing a structure that meets a teacher-specified objective. It...

Now that much of people's lives center around their electronic devices, paper is being used less often. However, sometimes you do need paper. Have your class brainstorm  the uses of paper and of electronic devices and compare their...

Where would you go if you were to take a trip around the world in 10 days? After a discussion about famous inspirational quotes, pupils view a short film that shows a trip around the world in 10 days paired with these quotes. Class...

How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...

Class members adopt the persona of real figures in American history, Patriots and Loyalists, research these individuals to determine their stance, and then debate the question of whether or not to declare independence from...

Discover the coldest animals in the world with a lesson about the Arctic habitat. Kids use a glossary and information sheet about animals found in the Arctic Circle to complete several activities, including tracking the lemming...

How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...

Bingo! Find five in a row with a set of fun and creative bingo graphic organizers. The sheets feature shapes such as leaves, monkeys, dinosaurs, fire trucks, as well as symbols for Christmas, Easter, and Valentine's Day.

Designed for a Christian Sunday school class, this unit includes eight lessons for introducing youngsters to the Easter season and its connection to Jesus Christ.