Third graders evaluate their performance at school. They examine their most recent spelling test scores to determine whether or not they met their goals for the test.

Kids read the book Boston Tea Party by Steven Kroll and use maps to locate various landmarks. They identify the cause and effect of the events related to the Boston Tea Party, then write a descriptive composition.

We are All Alike…We Are All Different is the springboard for the creation of an illustrated book in which young writers record their impression of themselves, their families, and their interests. Sharing the completed books in circle...

Learners use context clues to define words with multiple meanings. After extensive practice with their teacher, learners read through six sentences, they then identify a word with a multiple meaning, and determine its meaning based on...

Don't let the title fool you, this activity has little to do with authors! Instead, it tests your middle schoolers on their knowledge of language arts vocabulary. Words like audience, intrigue, novel, and recognition are covered. 

Patterns happen everywhere, in music, math, and language! Fourth graders listen to the "William Tell Overture" visualizing the patterns that they hear. They then discuss and write an ABA poem that matches the ABA form found in the music...

Expose your class to various poetic forms. Listed in and described in this slide show are: ballad, lyric poem, ode, dramatic monologue, sonnet, and villanelle. Some descriptions are more detailed than others. 

Model for your class members how to use a definition map to make connections between new words and prior knowledge. Although the strategy is designed for social studies classes, the approach can be use at any grade level and in any...

In this ESL literacy activity, students examine each individual board and then use them to tell and write a story about the events.

Students read excerpts of autobiographies from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. After listening to excerpts of an oral reading of Frederick Douglass' book, they discuss the ways African Americans were treated on plantations. ...

Students investigate the conservative agenda of the Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. They conduct Internet research, evaluate an edition of the Wall Street Journal, and write and publish a special-edition newspaper...

Students complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Students choose a character from the story and...

Fourth graders read the book Stellaluna and cite sentences that show cause and effect in the story. In this cause and effect lesson plan, 4th graders also write sentences that show cause and effect in their own lives.

Young scholars complete a Venn diagram comparing the United States and Afghanistan. They research the history of the Taliban and how they relate to the United States and its foreign policy. They write a paper on possible solutions.

Learners discuss the importance of land ownership and the purpose of land surveying in the eighteenth century. They interpret a transcript of an eighteenth-century land survey. They survey and area of land. They create a written or...

Students access prior knowledge to choose a country and research the living conditions in that country. In this living conditions lesson, students recognize the differences and similarities of conditions of another country to ours....

Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history instructional activity, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the...

Seventh graders consider how the majority sometimes enforces unjust laws upon the minority. In this Indian Removal lesson plan, 7th graders research Internet and print sources regarding the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and discuss its...

Fourth graders write a diary entry. In this journaling lesson plan students examine a 1880's primary source document. Students read about a young girl visiting her Aunt in rural Indiana. Students write about what they did in the last day.

Fifth graders analyze many examples of African-American poetry and examine how different poems reflect the cultural experiences of African-Americans. The poems and spirituals chosen are very effective for public presentation.

Investigate themes and issues in art such as the concept of originality, interpretation of visual language, symbolism, and examination of the categories of fine art and folk art.

Eighth graders examine the use of video surveillance in the corporate world and other life situations. In groups, they determine how many times and in what situations they believe they are being watched. They use the Constitution to...

Young scholars examine the relationships among living and non-living parts of the environment. Using their senses, they identify the objects in their classroom. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover where electricity...

Students explore the concept of division using the book "When the Doorbell Rang." They listen to the book, role-play the dividing of the cookies from the story, and create their own story problem to solve using the stamp program from...