Read and analyze a variety of Shakespearean and contemporary puns using Visual Thesaurus computer software. Middle and high schoolers analyze a pun as a class; in small groups they analyze a Shakespearean pun using contextual clues and...

Practice vocabulary skills with this word analysis lesson. Middle schoolers examine the roots of unfamiliar words and use their knowledge of roots to discern meaning through word analysis.

Learners explore and react to the painting The Road to Santa Fe. In this interacting with art instructional activity, students locate various objects in the painting.  Learners copy the angle of objects by using their bodies. ...

Here's an engaging, meaningful, and clever lesson plan on map skills for elementary schoolers. Pupils combine story writing with mapping skills to create an original piece of work. They utilize a worksheet embedded in the plan to guide...

An informative learning exercise invites learners to compose essays about animals. Some excellent writing prompts are included in this innovative learning exercise. Use these ideas with a variety of grade levels.

Seventh-graders solve 20 various types of problems related to ratio and rate. They write ratios in simplest form for each given statement, to compare the area of two figures, and write two ratios equivalent to each ratio. Pupils express...

Students attempt to understand seasonal variation by viewing images of the energy received by the earth. In this weather activity, students view images from NASA of the influx of energy from the sun and make predictions about resulting...

Challenge your students with this instructional activity on American government! Learners discuss the three branches of government and its responsilbities, and then go on to more complex critical-thinking activities. Students interview...

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...

What is all the fuss about genetically modified foods? PBS provides this resource designed to supplement the documentary Food, Inc. to help learners investigate the benefits and controversies of genetically modified foods...

An interesting instructional activity on hypothesizing about the diameter of a drop of blood that is splattered. To test their theories, learners work in groups to make blood droplets splatter from different heights. They use graphed...

Incorporate technology into a literature lesson plan with an innovative language arts lesson plan. Middle schoolers read an electronic version of original stories or fairy tales, and after determining the point of view, rewrite the...

Guide your class through the intricacies of solving compound inequalities with a resource that compares solutions of an equation, less than inequality, and greater than inequality. Once pupils understand the differences, the...

Equivalent ratios show up on tape. Young mathematicians use tape diagrams to create equivalent ratios in the initial lesson on the topic. They learn the definition of equivalent ratios and use it to build others in the third segment of a...

Students tell about their family heritage by writing a story and illustrating it with a picture of a family item.

Elementary schoolers use a function machine in order to help them look at the relationship between input and output, and to look at the rule for the change. The machine is actually a cardboard box, and it serves quite well for the...

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...

Young researchers explore the history of the peace process in the Middle East. They write a paper about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and view the video Israel and Palestine: The Fight for Peace. They discuss the events leading up to...

Sixth and seventh graders solve 19 various types of problems related to integers as objects models. They write an integer that corresponds to each letter on a number line and then, arrange the integers from least to greatest. Pupils also...

Students discover characterization techniques and methods. In this characterization lesson, students choose favorite fiction characters and discuss what makes a character come alive. Students then describe a family member or a friend and...

Learn about the concept of specialization of labor with your class. In this specialization of labor lesson, 3rd graders work in teams to produce a product. They work in either a division of labor or independent production method. They...

Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...

Third graders explore entertainment and promotion as forms of media.  For this improvisation lesson, 3rd graders examine different types of media text and role play various experiences and responses to topics such as: creation of a...

No rules...awesome! Or is it? It's tough for young learners to think about what would happen if a rule didn't exist, but understanding the rules and where they come from helps keep everyone safe. Youngsters write a rule on the front of...