Subject(s): Language Arts Grades(s): Grades 4-5

Alphabet, Punctuation, & Sounds:

• This is a good lesson on punctuation and use of quotations
• This lesson is on punctuation marks and their use in oral reading
• This is an interesting idea involving human punctuation marks
• Students use pasta to punctuate character trait quotations in this fun lesson
• In this lesson, students will be writing contractions in a poem
• This lesson on capitalization in direct quotes features instructional strategies for multiple intelligences
• This capitalization lesson for proper nouns and adjectives also features instructional strategies for multiple intelligences
• The Syllabary/Analogy Method is used here to decode the pronunciation of polysyllabic words

Drama & Speech:

• Here is a brief idea for a talk show skit on alcohol and tobacco
• This idea is called “Talk Time” and is a good first day of school activity to get students talking
• Here’s a lesson that gets your students to “jump” into a story
• Although not a lesson plan, these fun tongue twisters can come in handy
• This lesson is on creative drama and improvisation
• This drama lesson is on Aristotle’s “Six Elements of a Play”
• Oral language practice can be achieved with “Silly Story Starters” in this lesson
• This is a fabulous 8-day multidisciplinary unit on deafness and American Sign Language
• “Falling for Rapunzel” is a short adapted play or Reader’s Theater piece that even rhymes
• In these two lessons, drama is used to improve language and literacy
• Here Halloween storyboards are assembled and acted out
• Students write and deliver Valentine’s Day craft demonstration speeches here

Foreign Language:

• This lesson is called “Count in Espanol”
• Here’s a teacher’s guide to using foreign language songs in the classroom (La Bamba)
• Here’s a brief idea for writing dates in French
• Click here to count to ten and say greetings in German
• This fun hands-on lesson teaches students Spanish language and culture as they improve their Baleros skills.
• Conjugate French ER verbs here with the help of Frere Jacques
• In this direction vocabulary lesson, students search for “my lost dog”
• Students find out how to say “Thank you” in other languages in this internet search idea
• This is a foreign language exercise in asking and telling age
• You’ll have bilingual fun with the “The Barking Mouse” in this lesson

English as a Second or Foreign Language (ESL / EFL / ELL):

• This is a vocabulary building game idea
• Here is an “All About the Teacher” bilingual poster idea
• This ELL article promotes proficient, independent and imaginative English writers by explicit teaching methods and four research based strategies
• “The Cheap Crazy Doctor” is an acting dialog for ESL/EFL students to practice and act out
• This EFL lesson on soft and hard vowels employs the yin/yang symbol

Parts Of Speech:

• A language arts lesson plan on decoding phonograms
• This one is on Casey At The Bat
• This idea for Word Usage involves the use of an Internet site
• This lesson teaches the Parts of Speech by using Computers
• Here’s a game idea on Common and Proper Nouns
• This lesson called “Musical Terms” actually teaches Language Arts Terms
• This Charades game idea is on Nouns and Verbs
• Another Charades game, this one on the Parts of Speech
• A fun activity idea for learning Compound Nouns
• This is a brief idea for teaching Prepositions with song
• This idea uses Parent Teacher Conferences to get students thinking about Adjectives
• This lesson plan has a catchy title – “Nicky Noun and Victor Verb”
• Here’s a good game idea called “Power Verb”
• This lesson on Prepositional Phrases is called “Preposition Boogie”
• This is just a song to help students remember Helping Verbs
• Here’s a learning activity for the Kinetic Parts of Speech
• A lesson that involves Matching with Synonyms and Antonyms
• Teaching Past Tense Verbs is the subject of this lesson
• This lesson plan is on Abstract Nouns (as well as other Nouns)
• Adjectives are the focus of this idea using newspaper Movie Reviews
• A fun Common and Proper Noun Activity Idea
• Here’s a brief idea for Verbs and Adjectives called “My Favorite Things”
• A lesson on Metaphors and Metaphorical Vocabulary Definitions
• Here is a great game on learning compound words
• In this lesson, students read “Buffaloes Before Breakfast” and learn about compound words
• Use this fun activity to review parts of speech before a test
• This is an idea for reviewing prepositions
• This Squeezy Ball Father’s Day idea teaches gerunds and reduces stress
• Alliteration using Adverbs and Adjectives is the subject of this lesson
• Students work in groups to create an adjective picture poster in this lesson
• Here is [a, an] article lesson
• Vanquish weak verbs like “went” with the “Vivid Verb Word Bank” lesson (but don’t try to say it 3 times)
• Use this Tongue Twister template to practice parts of speech
• This lesson uses fortune cookies to motivate students to “find the verb” or other parts of speech
• This is a lesson on adjectives (See how boring this description is without them!)
• Here as a story character, students write about their “Caribbean Dream” using verbs from the story
• This lesson idea combines adverbs of frequency (always, sometimes, rarely, or never) with interviewing
• Nouns as ideas is illustrated in the non-objective art lesson
• This lesson provides a little tic-tac-toe fun with adjectives
• This adjective lesson uses a semantics map
• Here is a “Mighty Mike – Brilliant Brianna – Talented Tamika” name learning game with adjectives idea
• This lesson teaches adjectives with music and mystery objects
• Here students create a color metaphor poem using adjectives
• The “Linking Verb Macarena” is a fun mnemonic device idea
• In this Halloween lesson, students write adjective-rich advertisements for haunted houses for sale
• This is a common linking verbs song idea
• After each student creates a self-descriptive bubble map, the class graphs the popular adjectives in this first day of school idea
• This is a top-down approach for teaching irregular plural nouns

Poetry:

• A Cooperative Learning Language Arts lesson plan on Poetry
• This lesson is on Poetry and Teamwork, using a Poem from Chicken Soup for the Child’s Soul
• Here’s a lesson on Valentine Cinquain Poems
• An interesting lesson idea for Poetry About Chocolate (for Chocolate Week)
• Students will write Haiku Poetry and Create a Picture for their State in this lesson
• Here’s an idea called “Fruit Poetry” focusing on Similies and Metaphors
• This is a Poetry lesson that focuses on the differences between Prose and Poetry
• A fun “Fill In The Blanks” Lesson with Shel Silverstein Poems
• Students create Mother’s Day Cards with Poems in this lesson idea
• “Odes to my (Bilingual) Classroom” is a good end of the year idea
• This is a good idea for Writing Poetry using the first lines of existing poems
• Writing poetry is fun when you are adding couplets to Shel Silverstein’s “Sick”
• This poem template helps students create poetry to be read by next year’s class
• If a goofy female horse is a “Silly Filly,” then a wet canine is a ____ _____
• In this lesson, students write color imagery poems based on Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill.
• This inspiring lesson is based on the poetry of a 13-year-old muscular dystrophy victim
• This fundraising idea involves publishing student poetry on a calendar
• This is an Ode to Thanksgiving Poem which can be expanded as a writing activity
• This lesson is an introduction to Australia’s indigenous culture through poetry
• Here students write a different type of poem each day, culminating in a PowerPoint presentation
• Your students will start passing secret poem notes after solving these clever “Rhyme Scheme Riddle” poems
• “Onomatopoeia Rita” is an active percussion poem for kinesthetic and auditory learners
• Children also identify rhythm patterns in verse using percussion instruments in this lesson
• Here students use visual imagery to write an original color poem that they illustrate with images, transitions and narration in a photo story

Reading – Compare & Contrast:

• This Language Arts lesson involves Multicultural Fairy Tales
• In this lesson, students Compare & Contrast “The Mouse Before Christmas” and “The Night Before Christmas”
• Students compare two specific Christmas-Themed Books in this idea
• Folktales Around The World represent the topic of this lesson plan
• Students Compare and Contrast the Characters from “Mufaro’s Daughters” in this short lesson
• Grab your big ears, binoculars, and fake poop and come investigate context clues with “The Snoop”

Reading – Comprehension:

• This one is called Sketch To Stretch for Language Arts and Art
• This Reading lesson is on Predicting, Understanding, and Fluency
• Here is a good Method for Teaching Comprehension Skills
• Here’s an idea to increase Reading Comprehension through Visualization
• Here’s an interesting lesson – a Pre-Read “Tea Party” for Island of the “Blue Dolphins” – Comprehension
• This Reading / Predicting lesson uses the textbook “A Soft Pillow for an Armadillo”
• AIMS SURE COUNT – A simple Acronym to help learn Reading Skills
• This idea focuses on the “SPREADS” Reading Comprehension Skills
• Increasing Comprehension Skills is the goal of this lesson on Coal Mining and “Danger At The Breaker”
• Kinesthetic Learning is used in this lesson to build Reading Comprehension through Kickball
• In this lesson, “Miss Alaineus” teaches inferencing and summarizing reading comprehension strategies
• In this sequence comprehension lesson, students make a 6-square story quilt
• Here students share their special “gifts” after reading Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”
• This is a well-developed introduction to using context clues
• In this reading comprehension lesson, students make inferences from “artifact bags”
• Students create a “tableau vivant” Photo Story 3 presentation demonstrating comprehension of a short story here
• Comic strips and Photo Story 3 are used here to teach story sequencing

Reading – Literature:

• This lesson plan uses the story Beluga Passage and focuses on Beluga Whales
• A lesson using Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes – Japanese History
• Below are the parts of an in-depth thematic unit on the book Ben And Me
  • An Introduction to the Ben And Me Unit
  • This page contains an Overview of the Unit
  • Here are the Unit’s Key Concepts
  • These are the Objectives for each lesson in the unit
  • Lesson 1 of the Unit deals with who Benjamin Franklin was
  • The second lesson is titled Words Of Wisdom To Live By
  • This lesson deals with Famous Inventions
  • Lesson 4 deals with the Mouse’s point of view
  • The last lesson involves making a kite
• A collection of teaching ideas for the book “Summer Song,” written by the author
• A collection of teaching ideas for the book “Libby Bloom,” written by the author
• This complete, multidisciplinary thematic unit is on Charlotte’s Web AND Spiders(not listed in order):
  • This part deals with the End of the book, and involves launching a Balloon Journey
  • Here’s a Writing Activity involving the students’ Favorite Parts
  • This section is on the Main Characters and Quoting
  • This portion is on Acting Out portions of the book
  • This lesson is on Predicting with Charlotte’s Web
  • This part uses a Crossword Puzzle to learn Scientific Facts about Spiders
  • This section is on Finding Spiders’ Homes
  • A similar section – Finding Where Spiders Live
  • Here’s More on Finding Where Spiders Live
  • This portion is on writing Haiku Poems about Spiders
  • Here students take on the roles of Arachnologists and Interview each other
  • The Spider’s Life Cycle is the subject of this lesson
  • Graphing the Lengths of Spiders is the subject of this part
  • More Graphing, this time with Facts about Spiders
  • Here students Plot Facts about Spiders
  • Another Math lesson, this one using Spider Math Problems
  • This part involves doing Research on Spiders
  • A fun activity for developing Spider Webs out of cold Spaghetti
  • This portion is on Spiders’ Venom
  • A Writing Activity about Wilbur’s First Day
• This collection of lesson ideas on Shared Reading of Tall Talescan be fun and helpful:
  • This first one is on the classic tale of Johnny Appleseed
  • The Emperor and the Kite is the subject of this one
  • This one covers The Princess and the Golden Shoes
  • Here’s one on the old tale of Pecos Bill
  • This one covers Paul Bunyan
  • This concluding idea helps to wrap things up
  • This one can also serve as a closing to the Tall Tales activities
• A Reading lesson on the story “Sarah, Plain and Tall”
• Here’s a teaching guide for the book “The Secret Life of Hubie Hartzel,” written by the book’s author
• This Native American lesson uses “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee”
• The first part of a lesson on “Holes” by Louis Sachar – Introduction and Supplemental Information
• This second part on “Holes” includes Teacher Pages for each chapter
• This one is on the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Book and includes writing
• Just a brief idea for a complex lesson on Romeo and Juliet
• This “novel” diorama project combines reading, writing, speech, and art
• After reading The Borrowed Hanukkah Latkes by Linda Glaser, why not make some?
• Coretta Scott King Award-Winner books are introduced to children in this literature lesson
• Here are discussion questions for “The Well” by Mildred Taylor

Reading – Story Elements:

• A Language Arts lesson plan on Theme and on Giving
• A lesson plan on developing a character
• A Language Arts lesson on climax
• A reading and writing activity on the author Gary Soto
• Analyzing and identifying character traits are the focus of this lesson
• This lesson is on character, setting, and plot using the Brave Little Monster
• Here’s a creative way for students to comprehend the elements of a short story
• In this lesson, students create a literary elements advance organizer
• This teacher uses How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World to teach second person point of view, geography, and much more
• This lesson answers the question “What is genre?”
• This literary elements lesson uses a “narrator’s point of view” and Little Red Riding Hood
• This point of view lesson begins by comparing three versions of The Three Little Pigs
• This is a simple character and scene project idea for the book “Tangerine”
• In this lesson, a costumed teacher introduces a main character and the students fill in the other story elements
• Here students fill one grocery bag with objects representing a “Because of Winn-Dixie” character and one bag with objects that represent themselves
• Students interactively explore word play devices (similes, metaphors, puns, hyperbole, personification, alliteration) and the mystery genre with “The Hamster of the Baskervilles” in this multidisciplinary unit
• Here students create a graphic organizer of a tall tale they were told and one they would like to tell

Reading – Other:

• A Reading lesson dealing with rain forests
• This great lesson plan is on Reading for Meaning and Vocabulary Skills
• This lesson plan is meant to teach students to Increase their Read Speed and Comprehension
• This lesson called “Book Blurbs” helps students with Reading Comprehension and Identifying Climax
• This idea involves recording your students’ Reading
• An idea for stimulating Reading Motivation by making a “Banana Book Split”
• This lesson plan is on Pancake Day / Mardi Gras and involves numerous books about pancakes
• After reading about acts of unkindness, students create a web of compliments
• This book-based thematic unit examines significant architectural, virtual and personal Walls That Tell a Storyand asks the question, “If these walls could talk, what would they say?” (MD)
  • Table of Contents
  • Curriculum Web of Activities
  • Narrative Rationale
  • Timeline for Implementation of Lessons
  • Unit Materials and Resources
  • Lesson Plan 1 – Mapping Walls (SS, Math)
  • Lesson Plan 2 – Building the Biggest Walls (Science)
  • Lesson Plan 3 – Virtual Exploration of Lascaux Cave (CI)
  • Lesson Plan 4 – Breaking Down Walls (LA, Other)
  • Unit Comprehensive Assessment
  • Culminating Activity-Field Trip
• This lesson on colonial times helps students find the “most important ideas” in a piece of expository text, not just the main one

Research:

• A very thorough lesson on creating an alphabet book and research
• The purpose of this lesson is to teach students to use a newspaper index
• This lesson builds familiarity with reference sources by researching night creatures (good for Halloween)
• This is a game idea for using an index
• In this project, students research, write, and use media to help a local environmental issue
• Here students research geographical landmarks after learning about tall tales and The Bunyans
• Here students create a clip art PowerPoint slide presentation on a Revolutionary War personality
• In this lesson, students learn how to be a biographer
• This is an excellent 12-day lesson on conducting research for expository papers

Sentences & Paragraphs:

• A lesson plan on Quotations
• An idea to help students remember the format of a Paragraph – called “Hamburger Paragraph”
• A fun activity for creating Sentences out of Candy Hearts (Valentine’s day)
• Here’s a Sentence Development Activity idea
• A Special Education idea for Creating Sentences
• This is a Typing activity called “Finish The Sentence”
• This lesson is on Expanding Sentences and Paragraphs for Details
• “Whose Sentence Is It Anyway?” – a lesson on Sentence Structure
• Students Write a Paragraph on making a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich in this lesson
• Here is a lesson that involves identifying complete subjects and predicates

• Use this back-to-school art activity to review writing paragraphs
• “Better Paragraphs Using Math Formulas” is an 8-day paragraph teaching plan for students of all ability levels
• This is the rubric for the preceding formula paragraph lesson plan
• In this lesson, students “shop” for sentences
• This lesson teaches that successful paragraphs contain variety and proper punctuation
• Here is a lesson on sensible sentences
• This is a dialogue writing lesson
• This lesson invites students to step up to writing descriptive/specific paragraphs
• Roald Dahl books are utilized here to show how to create the hook in an opening sentence
• Here is an easy format for teaching how to write good sentences

Spelling:

• A lesson on Spelling simply entitled Sparkle
• A fun Spelling lesson called Spelling Battleship
• This Spelling Relay Game could be used in PE and a variety of grade levels
• This idea is called Dictations Please and is on Listening and Spelling
• A fun Spelling activity called “Tic-Tac-Toe Spelling”
• Here’s a brief idea for playing Spelling Basketball
• This lesson helps students learn to Spell better by using Memory Cues
• Round Robin is the name of this Spelling Game
• Here are 2 group activity ideas for Spelling
• Here’s a game idea called “Spelling Checkers”
• A word study strategy is implemented in this spelling lesson
• Here’s a spelling game idea that’s similar to the TV show “Survivor”
• Here is a fun word-wall spelling game
• This is a fun way to learn to spell
• Instead of “write the spelling words 10 times each”, why not try this”Jumping Jack Spelling Bee” idea?
• Click here to play Wheel of Fortune Hangman with song lyrics: TW_NK_E TW_NK_E __TT_E ST_R
• This is a low stress spelling game
• This multi-sensory approach to spelling words is effective for ADHD and dyslexic students
• This is an idea to “Stamp Out Spelling”
• This lesson shows that words that sound alike are not always spelled alike
• This is a suffix/prefix dice spelling aid idea
• This is a new method for teaching “The Big 4 Clusters of Commonly Confused Words”
• Here are more clusters of commonly confused words

Vocabulary:

• Here’s a Vocabulary Building project idea
• This game idea is for Building up Vocabulary
• Here’s an interesting idea for Creating Skits on Spelling or Vocabulary Words
• This lesson deals with Musical Vocabulary Links – Vocabulary from Songs!
• Here are ideas for learning lists of Important Words
• Here’s a fun game idea called “Vocabulary Steal The Bacon”
• Here’s a full-class version of the word board game, Scrabble
• This Vocabulary and Symbols lesson uses a “Terms Baseball” game
• Here’s a very brief idea for a Vocabulary Game
• A “Swat Game” for Learning Vocabulary in various subjects
• This looks like a fun Vocabulary Game idea and is titled “Hot Seat”
• This is a good homophone lesson utilizing several internet resources
• “Kids Just Want To Have Fun” with this synonym lesson
• This lesson teaches vocabulary through antonyms
• Swat synonym flies here with this simple vocabulary game
• This well-developed vocabulary activity builds memory and teamwork skills
• This is a weather vocabulary lesson developed for ELD students
• This fun idea combines weekly vocabulary words and movement
• This Spelling-and-Charades Game is a great way to practice vocabulary words
• These three activities help students build a “feelings” vocabulary
• “The Boo Game” is a great way to review vocabulary words in any subject
• Here the process of elimination method for solving multiple choice and vocabulary questions is introduced
• Students grow a “pair of pears” homophone tree here
• Use this clever “Vocabulary or Sight Word War” card game to teach the “new words” in any subject

Writing – Letters:

• This Language Arts lesson is called Flower Power
• This lesson is on Letter Writing regarding topics related to students’ Community
• This is a Christmas idea for Writing Letters to the Three Wise Men
• This Pen Pal letter lesson is on Paragraphs and Grammar
• In this fun Christmas activity students Write to the Grinch describing why they love Christmas (to try to change the Grinch’s mind)
• In this idea students Write Letters to themselves at the beginning of the year and read them at the end
• A great end / beginning of the year lesson involving Writing Letters to next year’s students at the end of the year
• This great International Pen Pal idea helps students combat terrorism in a significant way
• In this lesson, students write a two paragraph opinion letter in response to “Yoshi’s (ecological) Dilemma”
• In this lesson, student’s write a letter to an Iraqi book character Sami

• Students write a letter to their next teacher in this end-of-year activity
• Here students make postcards to mail to themselves or their teacher over the summer
• Here students write letters to be read by next year’s class
• Here is an UGLY gift thank you letter assignment

Writing – Persuasive:

• This lesson uses a kinesthetic approach to persuasive writing
• Here students write editorials on protagonist’s decisions
• Here’s an idea for establishing academic New Year’s reflections and resolves
• In this lesson, students write movie reviews from a pet’s perspective
• This is an introductory unit on persuasive writing
• Here students study multimedia persuasion techniques and use them to create Photo Story 3 advertisements

Writing – Stories / Creative:

• A Writer’s Workshop lesson on Legends
• A brief idea to use as a Halloween Writing Prompt
• This good Creative Writing idea uses “Dream Snow” by Eric Carle
• A Creative Writing lesson using The Mysteries of Harris Burdick book
• Here’s an idea to get students Writing Christmas Stories with Partners
• This Writing lesson is on Building Suspense with Sensory Details
• Turn ideas into a story with this fundraising project
• Autumn Fun – Children write biographies for their Pumpkin Pal art projects
• In this lesson, students will write a story from the point of view of a turkey near Thanksgiving
• Here’s a “super” idea – have students create and write about their own “super-hero”
• Students write their own Native American myths in this lesson
• In this lesson, students write and illustrate a desert animal short story, similar in style to Mama, Do You Love Me?
• The object of this lesson is to write and illustrate a children’s book about a younger sibling or cousin and then give them the book
• In this “write and illustrate a Pourquoi tale” lesson, students journey down the path authors take when they write and publish a book
• Here is a “Gilligan’s Island” creative writing assignment
• Students create their own Harold and the Purple Crayon style drawing and story here
• Beanie babies and U.S. cities are the inspirations for this adventure story assignment
• Onomatopoeia in creative writing is the subject of this great mini-lesson
• These Native American “leather” stories make a great Thanksgiving hallway display
• Using a concept map, students write a 5-paragraph story here about their first memorable experience
• Here students tell a story about themselves using photographs and Photo Story 3

Writing – Technical:

• This lesson is on instructions and properly sequencing of them
• This lesson models how to glean information from text to write an informative paper

Writing – Other:

• “Party Talk” is a pre-writing and writing activity
• Here’s a chain writing idea for creating a story by multiple students
• This is a collection of Christmas journal ideas
• Here’s an idea to encourage writing compositions
• This 3 part lesson idea is on Writing Narratives:
  • This part is on how to “Explain Yourself in a Paragraph”
  • Here’s one on how to “Explain Yourself in a Story”
  • This portion teaches how to create “Showing Sentences”
• This lesson idea is on advertising and involves students writing their own ads
• Here’s a writing idea for what students do for Christmas (Holidays) and allows for the exploring of different cultures’ traditions
• This is an interesting lesson on essay Wwriting involving a beach umbrella
• Here’s a collaborative writing activity that uses a beach ball
• Another kinesthetic approach lesson, this one for writing essay conclusions
• This idea is on the “Revision Triangle – Affirmation, Clarification, and Elaboration”
• Writing a character Ddescription is the subject of this lesson
• In this lesson students use a timeline to develop writing ideas
• Students create a newspaper on computers in this lesson on “Typing, Writing, and Reporting”
• Here’s a lesson for writing personal narratives and using concept maps
• Students research about others and write biography poems in this lesson idea
• Here’s a lesson on Writing an Autobiography that involves using Digital Cameras
• Let your students draw AND write, “All About Me”
• This lesson uses OREOs to teach response writing
• Students use their initials to tell their own biographies in this lesson
• Take a fashion-forward approach to outlining with this engaging lesson
• Here is a Christmas paragraph storybook idea
• The author of this lesson compares the development of a song with the development of a story character
• Here’s an idea — Have student’s compare and contrast their St. Patrick’s Day traditions
• Here is an end-of-year bulletin board autograph idea
• Writing Greeting Card Quotes for fun or profit is a motivating creative writing activity
• This idea starts out as a bulletin board and ends as a memory book compilation of student writing assignments
• This lesson uses quarters to inspire response writing
• This is a great modeling lesson for writing expository intros and conclusions
• Here is an excellent expository writing plan that models body paragraphs
• This personal narrative lesson uses Joey Pigza Loses Control as a model
• In this newspaper lesson, students learn how to use photographs and visual design to convey messages
• In this interview idea, students learn about classmates while working on writing and oral presentation skills
• Here are some great New Year’s resolution lesson ideas
• Writing every related word that comes to mind is what this activity is all about

• Here students write a report describing the steps to build a snowman
• In this Valentine’s idea, students write their own conversation hearts
• The Three Little Pigs teach this personification lesson
• In this lesson, students write a mock television interview from a pet’s perspective
• This beginning-of-the-year “ME Box” idea helps students focus their writing
• Here students use word referents to enhance word choice and enrich vocabulary
• In this lesson, students write a comparative essay from the perspective of a food critic
• Here students add a sentence to the character development paragraph in front of them, and then switch chairs
• This lesson teaches self-editing techniques
• Here students learn to recognize the writing trait of “voice” in books, music and art
• “When I Was Young in the Mountains” by Cynthia Rylant is used here to model descriptive writing
• “Keypals” is a well-developed electronic penpal unit
• This A-Z endangered animal research project requires a triorama of creative writing projects
• Students create a newspaper about their most admired person in these Writing Workshop activities
• This is an idea for a class “Acts of Kindness” show-and-tell collage
• This is a program for writing and illustrating a hardbound class book
• Students create a topic specific newspaper here using a template
• This is a clever worksheet for using similes to describe characters
• Here students read “The Lion and the Mosquito,” learn the new vocabulary words, then write their own fairy tale using these new words
• This six pillars of character student publishing project yields a free full-color hardbound class book
• “Bee-loved Synonyms” uses insect cut-outs to suggest “better word” choices for future writing assignments

Other / Multiple Topics:

• The Keeping Quilt story is used in this idea called Quilts of Many Colors
• A collection of some fun Christmas Activity ideas
• This one, called Class Bank, is to help develop Good Habits, Learner Awareness, and Spelling
• An interesting lesson plan on Marketing a Product, including Making Commercials
• This is a great idea for a beginning and end of school lesson – using a Time Capsule to demonstrate students’ learning
• This big, multidisciplinary lesson called “Night Before Christmas” is on Writing and Much More
• This game idea is on Rhyming Words but could be used for other topics like Synonyms
• This is a brief Reading and Writing idea on Commercials
• Students Interview each other in this First Day of School idea
• Here’s a fun collection of Mother’s Day activity ideas (which may be adapted for Father’s Day)

• Here’s a good time filler where students Collaboratively Write a “Creative Book”
• This fable was written to help children Cope with Terrorism and may be helpful in your class
• Here’s an idea on using Strategies to Solve Problems
• A “Daily Quotes” idea that can be used as a filler before class
• This is another beginning / end of the year activity called “Memory Book”
• Teach students about the interviewing process using this great lesson
• A fun group activity for learning about your classmates
• Here’s a new ice breaker idea – have groups perform a commercial for a new use for an old object
• “Witching You a Happy Halloween” is a multidisciplinary Halloween unit for the month of October
• This conflict resolution lesson teaches Mediate, Don’t Instigate

• “Idioms for Dummies” teaches us that when it’s raining cats and dogs – we don’t have to beware of poodles
• This classmate interview template is an interactive language arts activity and an ice-breaker
• “Summer in a Can” is a vacation show-and-tell activity
• This is a great literature-based lesson on feelings
• “The AND Game” is a good Valentine’s language arts activity
• This is a lesson about endangered animals and “Rare Beasts” by Charles Ogden
• This is an “All About Me” memories and goals book idea
• This Christmas writing assignment focuses on quotation marks and nouns
• This lesson is so fat… it contains four comedic hyperbole worksheets
• The concepts of general vs. specific are taught in this listening skills game
• This is a lesson activity on cause and effect

Art Connections:

• A great Thanksgiving lesson on texture called Textured Turkeys
• An interesting Sculpture lesson on Silence – Expressing Without Words
• An Art History lesson on Byzantine Art and Architecture
• Students use Words and Pictures as Visual Images to tell Stories in this lesson
• Make a class puzzle
• Students use their initials to tell their own biographies in this lesson
• These “Me” collages are great for getting to know classmates
• In this Thanksgiving lesson, students write a list and visually present what they are thankful for by creating a placemat
• In this get-to-know-you idea, students create a self-portrait collage with their favorite things
• This self-reflection art and writing project creates a stunning classroom display
• Students utilize a journal during this elements of art lesson
• This outstanding cartography lesson combines the elements of art, geography, geology, math, and more
• This is an integrated Aboriginal dot painting lesson plan
• Students create paper quilting squares here to give a sick classmate well wishes and something to do
• In this lesson on the joys of giving, kids make fragrant bath salts and gift tags to give for Christmas and other occasions

Computers & Internet Connections:

• This very fun idea is called “Musical Computers” (Chairs)
• This is a brief lesson idea for typing and spelling
• Here’s a lesson plan for creating posters with Microsoft Word that works on Formatting and Grammar
• Students create animated stories using PowerPoint in this lesson idea
• Microsoft Publisher’s text box tool is used here to label Halloween tombstones
• This Thanksgiving acrostic idea lets students practice their writing and MS Word skills year-round (Other)
• Here students learn how to create the drop cap on the first letter of a paragraph while reflecting on New Year’s resolutions and goals
• Students use free digital scrapbook technology in this project to create alliterative phrase wall hangings

Math Connections:

• A math lesson on measurement and comparing using literature
• Another arithmetic lesson involving writing and fairy tales
• This multidisciplinary lesson deals with the wstimation of a pumpkin’s weight as it is carved
• This lesson on Venn Diagrams uses the book “A Promise is a Promise”
• In this lesson, students write a story that involves adding and subtracting money
• Polygon Monsters – create them and write about them!
• Tangrams and fox fairies are the subjects of this intriguing lesson
• If your kids can’t relate to the rules of rounding, try this storytelling idea
• This 5-minute interval time-telling lesson utilizes “Clocks and More”
• “Christmas Shopping at Harrods” is a group problem-solving lesson involving monetary conversions
• Comic book stories are rewritten here to include numerical content that is then turned into word problems for peers to solve

Music Connections:

• A Music lesson integrating Art and Language Arts involving Contrast
• This lesson on Playing How You Feel is called “Little Mozarts”
• Here’s a lesson on Patterns in Music
• A multidisciplinary lesson on Music Around the World
• This lesson plan involves Emotions in Music and Art
• This is a 4 Part Unit on Music and Emotions
• In this idea students play TV reporters and interview their “Favorite Composer”
• Here’s a fun activity idea on “Carnival of the Animals” by Camille Saen-Saints
• Notes on the Staff merge with Spelling in this neat lesson plan
• Here is a great, musical game that also teaches about nouns, adjectives and verbs

• Music students love to create these rhythmic syllable sentences
• “On the first day of Christmas, my parents gave to me ___” involves spelling, ordinal numbers, and memory practice
• In this lesson, students create a brochure about a composer
• This is a musical instrument writing prompt idea
• Here classes compose their own concert songs about frogs or other themes
• Here students create their own symphony story using characters from “Peter and the Wolf”
• Singing around the “campfire” is a great end-of-year idea
• Students write a story booklet inspired by the mood of eight songs in this listening idea
• This idea will have your students to listen carefully to the musical “words” of Miles Davis

Physical Education / Health Connections:

• This Harry Potter Quidditch Game is a great way to get students interested in PE!
• Here students use the shuttle run while reviewing for a spelling test
• Here is a relay race idea for learning how to spell the names of holidays

Science Connections:

• Here’s an in depth Thematic Unit on Weather
• A Language Arts lesson on rain forests
• A Language Arts lesson on precipitation in rain forests
• A Language Arts lesson on creating a Rain Forest
• Here’s a huge, fun, well-developed thematic unit on the Colonization of Mars(Solar System – all subjects):
  • This first one involves an introduction to the Solar System
  • The second lesson is intended to Develop Teamwork Skills
  • This portion is on Differentiating Between Needs And Wants Through Research
  • Part four is on Planets, Soil, and Nutrients
  • Here’s a section on the Real Greenhouse Effect
  • Part six works on the difference between Orbit and Rotation and distance from the Sun
  • This one is called “What Goes Up Must Come Down”
  • Lesson 8 helps to decide what it would take to “Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before”
  • Part 9-1 involves Writing a Letter to NASA
  • 9-2 will create a Short Play
  • 9-3 includes Writing a Letter to the President
  • Part 9-4 involves Assessing the Mars Colony Ideas
  • In part 9-5, students will create a basic Web Page
  • Lesson 10 involves Interviewing Skills to determine who should be the first to go to Mars
  • In the last lesson, students will use their Interviewing Skill with guest speakers
• This huge unit is on the Solar System(with information on each planet within):
  • The Solar System Unit starts with an Overview
  • Here are the Learning Activities for the Solar System Unit
  • This part is a Classification of the Planets of the Solar System
• This lesson teaches the Relationship between a Species and its Ecosystem
• This lesson is on the Interaction between Living and Nonliving things in an Ecosystem
• Here’s a great lesson on Tracking Hurricanes
• This lesson is on Hurricanes, particularly in Florida
• This lesson plan is an Exploration of Volcanoes
• Here’s a multidisciplinary plan on The Water Cycle
• This lesson teaches about Ecosystems while also teaching Diamante Poetry
• In this lesson, students learn about Columbus Day from two perspectives
• Teach about different countries and cultures with this must-have compilation of creative ideas
• This is an excellent multidisciplinary rock and mineral unit
• Students learn about and create constellations and their myths in his dual subject lesson
• Here students write a story about using their newly acquired animal adaptation
• In this lesson, students examine simple machines and predict their use
• After this nature hike, students identify, write about and make a shadow box with their outdoor treasures
• The story elements of ecological cartoons are discussed in these lessons that promote keeping grease and grit out of our sewers
• Botany is used in this idea for teaching descriptive writing
• Students work collaboratively here to create ecosystem concept maps using Kidspiration software
• Students love this Earth Day Jeopardy vocabulary game activity
• Students generate an Inspiration concept map on how body systems are connected in this well-developed “Magic School Bus” lesson
• “Taking Care of the Earth” is a four seasons lesson plan

Social Studies Connections:

• A Social Studies lesson involving writing letters to the president
• A Social Studies/Language Arts lesson plan on the news and its themes
• This one is on Native American Legends
• This lesson on Cacti is called Cactus Hotel
• This lesson is on Black History Month
• An interesting unit on the Colonization of Australia(invasion or settlement?):
  • Here’s the Unit Overview along with the first Learning Activities
  • This is the second collection of Learning Activities
  • And here’s the third set of Learning Activities
  • Last is a collection of unit Resources
• The unit below on Native Americansties in with another unit on this site – Charlotte’s Web and Spiders
  • This portion is on Native American Folk Tales
  • This one deals with the Lakota-Sioux Sun Dance
  • Here’s a lesson on the Navajo Indian Culture
  • Another Navajo lesson plan, this one involving Weaving Rugs
  • Last is a lesson on Native American Superstitions
• This lesson idea is on School Life and is called “Gremlins go to School”
• Here are some Worksheet ideas to be used before beginning a lesson
• This lesson plan is on Pioneer Life
• This lesson plan is on Cesar Chavez and the difference that a single person can make
• Here is a lesson plan on Navajo Pottery and Culture
• This lesson is for creating a PowerPoint Presentation on the Revolutionary War
• This lesson is called “Who’s Who in Florida?” and involves Historical Figures from Florida
• The unit below is on Simple Machinesand includes 10 lesson ideas:
  • The unit begins with an introduction to the Simple Machines Unit
  • First we look back to before there were any “Machines,” and look at Simple Machines like Corkscrews and Screwdrivers
  • Lesson 2 involves exploring Simple Machines in groups
  • This part focuses on Safety Equipment needed for some Machines
  • This is a Matching Activity with Simple Machines and their Definitions
  • This second part of lesson 4 continues the Matching Activity above
  • Lesson 5 discusses Assembly Lines and the making of products
  • Levers are the subject of this part of the unit
  • We continue with Wedges in this lesson
  • This lesson discusses Pulleys and their use
  • Force and Work are discussed in this portion of the unit
  • This brief idea involves Wheels and Axles
• Here’s a lesson on Decoding Braille
• This lesson on Tribes and Colonists involves a lot of student Research and develops Reading and Writing Skills
• Chief Seattle’s Letter and Ecosystems are the topics in this great lesson
• Here’s a great, in-depth lesson plan on the Civil War
• In this lesson students create model Native American Homes
• Students create a “Tribal Fact Book” in this Native American lesson plan
• This Native American lesson involves Painting an Event, Story, or Person from Native American History
• Students develop Indian Chief Biographies and presentations in this lesson
• A Native American lesson on Indian Chiefs that uses Venn Diagrams
• In this lesson on Cesar Chavez students make a (paper) Quilt to express their knowledge
• Below you will find Selected Lessons from a Unit on the Civil War:
  • Here’s an Outline of the Unit
  • The first lesson is on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
  • Another lesson on the Underground Railroad
  • This lesson is on Patriotic Songs
  • Lesson D is on Songs of the North…
  • …and Lesson E is on Songs of the South
  • Here’s the Unit Test
• This lesson looks at Black History in Western Expansion in America
• Here’s a big Economics Unit that is standards-based and titled “Classroom Business”
• Here’s a great Community Thematic Unit:
  • Unit Overview – What makes a good Community?
  • This lesson asks What is Community?
  • Here’s a lesson on Following Directions
  • This worksheet goes with the Following Directions lesson
  • Celebrating Diversity and Heritage are the topics of this lesson
  • Here’s a section on Goal Setting
  • This lesson looks at Community in Literature
  • In this part students Explore the Multiple Intelligences
  • Students find their most effective ways to learn in this lesson
  • Teamwork is the subject of this lesson
  • Here’s a collection of Community-Building Activities
  • This is the first part of the Service Project
  • Service Project Part 2…
  • …and Service Project Part 3
  • Here’s the Service Project Rubric
• Here’s an idea that will help get students excited about geography
• Posing as 1788 journalists, students create a newpaper front page to share their viewpoints on the ratification of the constitution
• In this lesson, students write a researched animal abuse stance paragraph after reading ‘Shiloh Season’
• In this lesson, students describe one of America’s European explorers in a poem
• This multidisciplinary vacation lesson exercises math problem solving, art, literary, and map skills
• This exceptional interdisciplinary 10-day unit explores the secrets of the Underground Railroad:
  • Unit introduction, timeline, essential questions, objectives, national standards, adaptations
  • Day 1: Derailment of Human Rights:
    A Life of Slavery
  • Day 2: Conductors of Freedom:
    The Role of Abolitionists and Quakers in the UGR Movement
  • Day 3: Hear the Whistle Blow! –
    Musical Messages of Freedom
  • Day 4: Tracking the Quilting Codes
  • Day 5: Tracking the Quilting Codes – Continued
  • Day 6: Underground Research
  • Day 7: Underground Research – Continued
  • Day 8: Route to Freedom:
    Mapping North Carolina’s UGR routes
  • Day 9: Riding the Rails:
    Personal Journeys to Freedom
  • Day 10: Riding the Rails:
    Personal Journeys to Freedom – Continued
  • UGR Unit Rubrics
    • Project Rubric
    • Presentation Rubric
    • Map Rubric
    • Diary Writing Rubric
    • Cooperative Group Work Rubric
    • Self-Report Affective Assessment Rubric
  • UGR Unit Bibliography And Webliography
• To complete this lesson, students create a diorama depicting a cause or effect of the American Revolution
• As you progress through this 2-week U.S. Constitution Unit, you build a tree with branches and leafy amendments
• Here’s an election year idea: students watch and critique televised candidate debates and then hold their own
• If you are looking for multi-disciplinary project ideas for an 1850s Westward Expansion/Oregon Trail unit, click here
• Here students write the story of Anne Frank’s life if she had survived
• This Rosa Parks history lesson incorporates reading comprehension as well
• “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” are compared in this lesson
• This web hunt shows students why and how we celebrate Independence Day
• This three-generation history of travel lesson includes multidisciplinary enrichment activities
• This lesson teaches students the value of getting along with people they do not know
• Here an alphabet book of student-created postcards is made for each state, especially Idaho
• Students write a postcard from the perspective of a Spanish sailor in this lesson about Columbus’ first encounter with the Taino Indians
• Here students write a letter about their “immigrant experience” after virtually exploring the Ellis Island immigration station
• This reading comprehension lesson centers on the book “Granddad Bud – A Veterans Day Story”