Calling all junior detectives! Scholars use the tools of investigation to determine the causes and impacts of the American Civil War. Using viewing guides, videos, group research, and written resources, they discover what it takes to...

Turn your passive readers into active readers with an engaging instructional activity on reading informational text. Focused on compare and contrast structured essays, the activity prompts elementary learners to jot down questions and...

Augment your eighth grade language arts curriculum with a thorough set of reading comprehension activities and assessments. Focusing on a variety of skills, including vocabulary in context, text structure, main idea, and author's style,...

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." These familiar lines begin the Preamble to the Constitution, but do learners know what they mean? A close reading exercise takes a look at the language of the...

To launch a reading of The Dark is Rising, the second novel in Susan Cooper's award winning contemporary fantasy novel sequence for young adults, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise that asks them to visualize the...

Is love the strongest force in the world? Delve into the themes of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas with an anticipation guide that introduces the main points of discussion. Kids mark their agreement or disagreement with...

Introduce the major themes in Markus Zusak's award-winning novel, The Book Thief, with an anticipation guide that asks readers to agree or disagree with a series of statements.    

Making inferences and drawing conclusions is a key component to successful active reading. Encourage your class to use context clues and prior knowledge to infer different elements of a story, including the setting, plot, and character...

What is the secret to success? Scholars use close reading of a variety of articles to determine characteristics of people that overcame hardships to become successful. While reading, pupils annotate their copies, make claims, and...

The SAT. The ACT. AP exams. The very mention of these exams can cause the college bound to feel anxious. One way to combat Test Anxiety is to provide high schoolers with models of these tests and give them opportunities to analyze...

Looking for a project to use in an AP® Computer Science class? Engage learners with a simple solitaire game called Elevens. Through these activities, learners break down the task and write the code for a game. Sign in to your College...

Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...

What strategies are most effective in changing an unjust law? Class members examine the tactics used in the Birmingham Campaign of 1963 (Project C) to achieve social justice and social transformation. After examining documents that...

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

What items would you need to save the world from an evil wizard? Prior to reading Susan Cooper's young adult contemporary fantasy The Dark is Rising, and to generate interest in the tale, class groups must reach consensus on a...

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a famous suffragette that paved the way for equal rights for women. Readers respond to before, during, and after reading questions based on her story. The resource is a great addition to a instructional...

Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.

Understanding different verb tenses begins with knowing how to decode words. A instructional activity on the -ed suffix with unchanging base words introduces readers to the past tense. Teachers present the skill with oral reading and...

Marijuana affects the brain differently than inhalants, which have a different effect than opioids. Elementary and middle school classes read about these drugs as well as nicotine, methamphetamine, hallucinogens, and steroids before...

The Statue of Liberty may embrace the huddled masses of the world, but has American society always joined in? After young historians read a passage about the history of American immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries, focusing on...

Between peer pressure, an onslaught of hormones, and brand new responsibilities, the teenage years can be emotionally volatile. Equip young adults with coping mechanisms and a safe place to discuss their feelings with a guided lesson...

You will never forget that moment. Scholars read a model narrative and analyze the moment a character became visible again. They compare the narrative to Okubo in Unbroken. Readers also assess the narrative essay according to a rubric...

Here's a guide designed to build safe, respectful learning environments, and to build understanding of the value of diversity through lessons packed with activities for specific grade levels.

Fans of Sherlock Holmes may be surprised to learn that in addition to stories of the famous deductionist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is also the creator of Professor Challenger. An irascible, unpredictable scientist, Challenger was featured...