How can poetry be taught in a way that will capture students' imaginations and inspire them to enjoy poetry's rhythms and rhymes? This book presents a fresh approach that will stir young learners' creative spirits and bring an unusual level of personal engagement to the classroom experience. The book contains a myriad of teaching ideas that can be…

This book offers teachers guidance in the task of lesson planning, providing four instructional design models: basic, integrated, differentiated, and problem-based. The models are progressively complex and nuanced, providing teachers with guidance as they increase their lesson-planning proficiency. The book includes a series of key questions and a…

This book presents bibliographic annotations of 202 picture books and 53 activities for teaching writing. The first part of the book is arranged alphabetically by author within categories of six traits of writing in the analytical assessment model: ideas and content (clarity and focus, rich and vivid details, and a clear sense of purpose),…

The Teens Together grief support curriculum is intended for use with adolescents, specifically students in grades seven through twelve, who have experienced the death of someone special to them. It is designed for use by professionals who work in schools, hospitals, hospices, mental health agencies, or any setting that serves bereaved adolescents.…

Noting that Washington Irving's classic tale of the Headless Horseman has lately become a Halloween favorite, this lesson plan helps students explore the artistry that helped make Irving the United States' first literary master, and ponders the mystery of what happened to Ichabod Crane. Its 4 lessons seek to make students able to: (1) summarize…

Showing how to introduce poetry to encourage creativity while teaching solid craft skills, this book presents mini-lessons and activities to help teachers in grades 3 through 8 get students to respond to poetry with joy and enthusiasm throughout the curriculum. The skills students learn from doing the exercises in the book support national, state,…

This packet contains a series of teaching guides on global change. The series includes lessons on dendrochronology; land, air, and water; and island living. Included is information such as : laws of straws; where land, air, and water meet; and Earth as home. Each section provides an introductory description of the activity, the purpose of the…

These activities are designed to teach about ocean exploration. Students are expected to research the development and implementation of a research vessel/vehicle used for deep ocean exploration, calculate the density of objects by determining the mass and volume, and construct a device that exhibits neutral buoyancy. The activity provides learning…

The writing program described in this lesson plan guides students in grades 3 through 8 in composing cinquain poems, a five-line form that uses the syllable count of two-four-six-eight-two. During the two 50-minute lessons, students will: describe the basic conventions of cinquain; interpret examples of cinquain; characterize the relationship…

The quick-writing activity described in this lesson plan guides grades K-2 students to write a simple cinquain as a follow-up to a subject they have been exploring in class. During the one 60-minute lesson, students will: write a poem about another topic, using the cinquain graphic organizer or outline; use words learned in the current thematic…

After reading a novel as a group, students prepare a television talk show that uses the characters from the story as the characters on the show. Students develop interview-style questions and answers for a character in the novel, and then act out the interview in class. During ten to eleven 45-minute lessons, students will: examine a character…

Middle grades students read, write, speak, listen, and research as they interview a partner and write an article, write a personal memoir, take partner photographs, and use the Internet to find pictures and information illustrating their partners interests. Results are shared in the form of a poster and a classroom presentation. During the fifteen…

Broadly speaking, all poetry is "found" somewhere, in something which inspires a writer to want to develop his or her thoughts in verse. However, inspiration is sometimes lacking for both experienced poets and new ones, such as students who are required to write poetry for a class. "Found poetry" can serve as an antidote to an experienced poet's…

This document features a lesson plan that examines how maps help scientists protect biodiversity and how plants and animals are adapted to specific ecoregions by comparing biome, ecoregion, and habitat. Samples of instruction and assessment are included. (KHR)

This activity is used to introduce students to biology in general and the significance of environmental studies. The focus of the ecosystem survey is to examine the effects humans have on the environment. After completing a series of investigations, students develop their own hypothesis about human impact on the environment, and then test this on…