In this lesson for grade 4, after students study the American colonists, they work in groups to create articles and artwork that depict colonial life--the art and articles are put together in newspaper form and copied for distribution to the class, other classes, and parents. The lesson should take 4-5 days for classroom implementation. It…

This curriculum unit examines William Shakespeare's tragic play, "Romeo and Juliet." The unit calls the play "one of the greatest and saddest love stories of all time," and notes that artists across centuries and oceans have retold the tale of "Romeo and Juliet" in various forms and incarnations. It first presents…

The shared writing program described in this lesson engages K-2 students in thinking about the process of learning and the behavioral and community needs which support a productive classroom environment. During the two 30-minute lessons, students will: participate in group discussions about learning; identify and agree on classroom goals and…

This manual presents information on designing and delivering a summer learning program whose goal is to provide an opportunity for students to experience academic success and positive self-esteem through reading fluency and comprehension. Sections of the manual address background and policies (on student and teacher selection, student promotion,…

Students are invited to confront and discuss issues of injustice and intolerance by reading a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts. During five to nine 45-minute sessions, students will: engage in critical discussions of shared texts and engage in independent reading of biographies to extend the literary experiences in read-aloud sessions;…

After reading self-selected books, students respond to reading in a journal and talk about their books daily in small, heterogeneous groups. The teacher guides and assesses students work by rotating among the groups, offering suggested response prompts and writing with them in their dialogue journals. During five 30-40 minute sessions, students…

Students will combine reading with descriptive writing in this lesson plan. Embedded in this project are skills, such as compiling, composing, defining, describing, illustrating, rewriting, and validating. During nine 30-minute sessions, students will: read and discuss "The Giver" by Lois Lowry in order to create meaning from the text; read short…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Keiko, the killer whale, lived for a long time in an aquarium and had to be taught to live independently; and that computer users can get updates on how Keiko is doing. The main activity of the lesson involves middle school students working in small groups to produce a…

This book, indicated for grades 2-6 (ages 7-12), aims to assist teachers in helping their students learn about good and bad choices, causes and consequences, and empathy and compassion through a unique and realistic story. In the book's story, Jason's plots to get Rachel kicked out of school keeps getting turned against him until, in an art…

These curriculum materials have been designed to help upper elementary students in England make a successful start at secondary school. These transition units consist of one unit involving 10 lessons at the end of Year 6 and a second unit of six lessons at the beginning of Year 7. The units use teaching objectives drawn from the primary and Key…

Based on Lewis Carroll's novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that he used nonsense and absurdity to comment on reality; and that surrealist painters are also known for including absurd elements in their works. The main activity of the lesson involves students…

This lesson plan presents activities in which students read, analyze, and discuss excerpts from children's war diaries; and create a storyboard for a public service announcement on children's rights in wartime. It includes objectives, materials, procedures, extension activities, excerpts of children's war diaries, suggested readings, and web…

Based on John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand the universal nature of Steinbeck's characters' struggles and some of the complex forces affecting their lives; and the value of primary source material in presenting an authentic picture of a given period in history.…

Based on Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the novel is grounded in facts that Melville acquired in his own experiences at sea; New England was the center of a prospering whaling industry in the 19th century; and journal keeping was not uncommon among 19th-century…

Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the ending of a novel does not resolve all of the questions that may occur to readers; and that readers may imagine characters living out their lives beyond the ending the author gave to a novel. The main…