Family Message Journals are tools for learning, thinking, and self-expression. By writing several messages with varied purposes, students begin to experience that journal writing can serve many purposes. It can help them remember; make sense of new information and ideas; and recognize, develop, and share personal thoughts and reactions. During…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that both individual families and whole cultures learn about their pasts by collecting and analyzing stories and artifacts; and that not all archeological finds readily reveal their history to archeologists. The main activity in the lesson involves students in making an oral…

Based on Sun Tzu's book "The Art of War," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the book has become required reading in military curricula as well as business, economics, and political science classes, and that many cultures rely on ancient texts and ideas for advice and guidance. The main activity in the…

Based on cowboy poetry and songs, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Old West cowboys produced a category of literature, people still write cowboy poetry, and cowboy poetry or songs have certain characteristics. The main activity in the lesson involves students in analyzing a classic of cowboy literature…

Developed for use in small groups, this unit focuses on developing skills pupils need if they are to progress from Level 3 to Level 4 in English of England's National Standards. It is meant to supplement, but not to replace, the English curriculum for Year 7 pupils. The unit is intended for Level 3 pupils working towards Level 4. It sets out to…

Adapted for whole class use, this unit focuses on developing skills pupils need if they are to progress from Level 3 to Level 4 in English of England's National Standards. It is meant to supplement, but not to replace, the English curriculum for Year 7 pupils. The unit is intended for Level 3 pupils working towards Level 4. It sets out to develop…

This book presents teacher-created lesson plans, sequenced by grade level, that illustrate the connection between teaching specific disciplines--English language arts, foreign language, mathematics, science, and social studies--and NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) for Students performance indicators. Each lesson sequence addresses…

Based on Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that identifying and thinking about a key quotation or symbol in a novel can help a reader extract greater meaning from the work; and that a paper analyzing literature should follow a logical organization. The…

Based on Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that some fictional literary characters become so famous that they enter popular culture in other forms (movies, games, toys); and that working on a product such as a game often demands collaborative effort. The main activity of the…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to enrich students' understanding of a literary work through careful reading and analysis of selected key scenes; to have students recognize how arts media can be integrated into literature studies; to acquaint students with masterpieces of world art; and to reinforce learning through the use of…

Based on Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Swift comments on undesirable outcomes of advances in science; and other authors have also warned against abuse of science. The main activity of the lesson involves students developing a poster illustrating views of…

Based on Ken Kesey's novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that all works of art lend themselves to critical reviews; critical reviews consist of opinions and support for the opinions; and a critical review may compare and contrast a work in one medium to the same work in…

Based on "The Autobiography of Malcolm X," this lesson plan presents activities in which students work collaboratively to evaluate four stages in the life of Malcolm X, each corresponding to a different name he used; consider how each name Malcolm X used reflected that period in his life; and draw conclusions in a written essay about how his life…

This paper discusses the value of merging real-life events with content instruction and provides six sample lessons to illustrate such instruction. A brief review of the literature notes historic recognition of the importance of applied learning, the issue of retention and transfer of learning, the approach of using content relevant experiences…

The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize students with life and technology around 1900 so that they can better understand how Thomas Edison and his many inventions influenced both. Without some understanding of Edison's time, it is unclear just how significant an impact Edison had on the world, both then and now. While the incandescent light…