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Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
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Night by Elie Weisel
Students read "No News from Auschwitz" and answer the study questions as an introduction to the novel. They record reactions to the essay and compare with reactions after reading "Night".
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Castle Builder
Fifth graders discuss the importance of castles in medieval times. Using the internet, they research the parts of a castle and design their own using the components. They use everyday materials to build the castle to a specific scale.
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The Great Depression and Now: The Migrant Worker Experience
Pupils identify the concerns of people caught in desperate times during the Great Depression. They make connections between The Grapes of Wrath and historical images from the Great Depression. Students make connections between the...
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Analyzing Elements of a Memoir
Students analyze and identify elements of memoirs. For this literature lesson students explore qualities to listen for while the teacher reads a memoir; they then break into groups and analyze a memoir independently.
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Memior: The Stuff of Our Lives
Fourth graders reflect upon the significance of remembered events and to keep a "notebook" of their thoughts and feelings. They read books that exemplify memior writing. They write their memiors, taking it through the writing process.
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Magic, Sass, and Rage
High schoolers are introduced to the characteristics of autobiographies. In groups, they read Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and develop their own rules for survival in the classroom. They bring in family photos in an...
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Ida Tarbell: Hysterical Woman vs. Historical Facts
Pupils examine journalism and its different styles. In this effective communication instructional activity students create an editorial message and articulate an article.
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You Too Can Haiku
Learners explore the country of Japan. In this international studies activity, students utilize their geography skills to locate Japan on a map. Learners explore some Japanese customs and communities. Students use descriptive...
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Through My Eyes
Fifth graders read the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. In this segregation lesson, 5th graders read Ruby's story to find out what happened in her life. They write their own narrative about what 'first' they would most like to...
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"Et tu, Brute?" - The Characters, Conflict and Historical context of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Students analyze the Shakespearian play, "Julius Caesar" in this seven lesson unit. Through readings, hands-on projects, and the study of plot development, comparisons are made to the movie and the historical records available.
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Ode to a Nightingale
High schoolers read poems about Tuberculosis by John Keats. Using the poems, they identify similies, metaphors, personification and imagery. In groups, they make connections about the author's outlook on life and how his disease...
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Exploring Space Fiction
Students visit web sites with information on space fiction and collect information for their stories.
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Introduction to melodrama
Students, in groups, read a melodrama and rehearse their scenes to perform in front of the rest of the class.
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The Great Gatsby
Eleventh graders investigate the concept of the American Dream. They use the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an example from literature. Students brainstorm in order to define the American Dream.
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Cause and Effect
Students identify cause and effect relationships in a short story. After reading a short story, they participate in a discussion of how one event in a story can lead to several others. Students are then paired for a matching task that...
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Language Arts: Chasing Vermeer - A DaVinci Code for Children
Students read the mystery novel, Chasing Vermeer, research the artist and his works. Through observation of his works, they create their own pencil sketches of selected paintings. Finally, students simulate Vermeer's interiors with...
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Television: Comedy Vs. Drama
Students investigate the world of Television by contrasting specific programs. In this visual storytelling instructional activity, students compare and contrast the differences between comedy and drama by making a Venn Diagram....
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Reading Lesson Plan
Tenth graders read the poem "Still I Rise" and discuss the different ways it can be told and read and brought to life. For this poetry lesson plan, 10th graders read aloud and silently, and compare different works of poetry.
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Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People
Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...
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What Difference Does it Make How Old I Am?
Students identify subtle messages advertisers send (often unintentionally) about age in the course of trying to sell products; to analyze the consequences, both positive and negative, those messages have on the American audience; to...
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Our Fledgling Society
Students examine how the lives of children have been represented in art in the past and the present. Using the internet, they research how schools are different today then they were in the past. In groups, they take photographs to...
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Find a Book
Student receives one book description card and in less than 2 minutes, they walk through the Media Center to find a book matching that description. After a matching book is found, each student evaluates the book.
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Lyddie
Seventh graders read the novel, Lyddie, while studying the reform movement. They complete assignments for each chapter and write essays about Lyddie's development through the novel.