Continue work with an informational text by following the procedures detailed here. The plan, part of a series, focuses on My Librarian is a Camel. Class members complete text-dependent questions and then prepare for and participate in a...

Readers learn together with a group discussion activity. As they read William Shakespeare's The Tempest, high schoolers prepare for a fishbowl discussion in which three or four learners sit in the middle of a large circle and...

Guide learners through a discussion about Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a helpful graphic organizer. As they read through the novel, individuals note their reactions to statements about the book's themes, and fill out...

High schoolers work in four different groups to examine the many factors that led to the American Civil War. They research an assigned topic, prepare questions, and finally engage in a class discussion using the Socratic Seminar method.

Keep this attractive display up on your walls to refer to each time you ask your learners to engage in a group discussion. The printable reminds participants to come prepared, complete assignments before meeting, listen and share ideas,...

After reading through Act II of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, take some time to discuss the references to death in the play. For this fishbowl discussion, learners prepare questions, practice answering individually and with...

Get your class ready to read with this anticipatory set for Running Out of Time. Small groups each consider one thought-provoking statement. After each group comes to a consensus, the whole class participates in sharing ideas and voting...

Following the reading of the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the ninth lesson in this unit involves emerging experts in a science talk about how bullfrogs survive. Looking back through the text, young scholars prepare for the...

Filter young teenagers' opinions and perspectives with a classic fishbowl discussion. Given any topic relevant to your curriculum, a group of class members engage in discussion for their peers to observe.

Engaging in topical discussions can be a great way to teach kids how to build strong arguments and support their opinions with concrete evidence. High schoolers choose a controversial topic, build an argument for or against that topic,...

Encourage readers of Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen's young adult novel about slavery set shortly before the Civil War, to develop their categorization and organizational skills with a strategy that asks them to list all the words they can...

Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...

Pick a topic, any topic! Working in small groups, scholars choose three topics they think would make interesting podcasts. Next, each group shares their ideas with the class to narrow down their choices.

Using the resource, learners share their essay revisions with a partner. Afterward, they participate in a Fishbowl discussion, receiving peer feedback about their editorial essays. 

Learners practice remaining on topic during a conversation using printouts of chains as visual models for their work. Chains are placed in sequence while students stay on a shared topic of conversation, and a broken chain is used as...

As learners build the "girders" of conversation by staying consistent on a particular topic, they avoid the "wrecking ball" of an off-topic comment. To help students develop this important conversation skill, this resource provides...

Get things cooking with the first lesson in this series on the science of food. Working in small groups, young scientists make and record observations about different mystery foods. These descriptions are then shared with the class and...

Readers of Bud, Not Buddy demonstrate their knowledge of the Great Depression with a list, group, label vocabulary strategy. Included are complete directions for the activity that will also introduce class members to the new vocabulary...

Be a team player. Scholars gather in their expert groups and discuss group norms and roles. They look at their research topics and determine how they will divide the work among themselves. Groups look over their research folders and ask...

War brings a whole new set of ethical dilemmas. From deciding whether to enlist in a segregated and racist Army to whether to sacrifice civilian lives to prepare for a critical D-Day invasion, leaders during World War II faced many...

A scripted lesson can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...

Good question are the heart of great discussions. To prepare for a book club discussion, introduce young readers to the characteristics of good conversation-starting questions. Practice crafting questions for a text the class has...

Give a voice to even the most quiet learners! Post discussion questions in different locations (on the whiteboard or around the room on posters). Class members then either answer a question posed or comment on a peer's response. Instead...

How many unifix cubes tall are you? If you're not sure, then perform this math activity with your class and find out. Working in pairs, young mathematicians make measuring sticks out of unifix cubes in order to determine the length of...