What is the main idea? Interest your young readers with this fun introductory lesson! After selecting several items from a paper bag, the teacher leads learners to determine the big idea for those items. This concept is then applied to...

Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...

Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...

This second lesson in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and defining important...

Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin! Upper graders and middle schoolers read the story The Three Little Pigs and other tales related to the story from various points of view. They use the Internet to find more stories...

This is a skills-based assessment that asks test takers to use textual evidence to determine the main idea of an excerpt from an informational text as well as respond to text-dependent questions. The assessment is the middle point...

For this ninth lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit, close reading skills are used independently to find the gist of the story That Book Woman. Rereading for important details is the targeted skill to unlock a deeper...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

Drawing circles isn't the only thing compasses are good for. In this first installment of a 36-part series, high schoolers learn how to draw equilateral triangles by investigating real-world situations, such as finding the location of a...

Upper graders read the book Holes as a class or by themselves. In groups, they identify symbols and discuss how they are connected  among the many plots in the story. They create a timeline in which they sequence the main...

Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...

Could the history of bread really be interesting? Yes, it could! An informational text gives scholars wheat production background from 8,000 years ago, discussing different types of bread and the current industry in Oklahoma. Learners...

The greater the degree, the more solutions to find! Individuals find the real solutions from a graph and use the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra to find the remaining factors. 

Round and round they go ... where they stop, only scholars will know. By writing systems of equations, classes determine the number of cars a roundabout can handle given specific constraints. Systems use up to six variables and become...

Use everything you know about quadratic equations to solve polynomial equations! Learners apply the Zero Product Property to factor and solve polynomial equations. They make a direct connection to methods they have used with quadratic...

Don't give your classes the third degree. Use radians instead! While working with degrees, learners find that they are not efficient and explore radians as an alternative. They convert between the two measures and use radians with the...

Model the earth's core with a neat activity that uses science as an inquiry and step-by-step procedures. The activity acquires a lot of assistance from the teacher or volunteer helpers. 

Students explore global culture by researching a Mexican holiday. In this Day of the Dead lesson, students read assigned text which discusses the view of death in several different cultures including the U.S. and Mexico. Students write a...

Basically, this is an interactive exploration of educational astronomy software and an app. Young astronomers discover how the apparent motion of the sky relates to Earth's movements and the position of the observer. It is out of this...

Students practice analyzing skeletal remains for clues by using the Internet.  In this scientific investigation lesson, students research the La Belle shipwreck using the Internet and written materials, later completing a Skeletal...

In this unit, students examine the many different themes in Anne Frank's diary. They connect the themes to their own life and keep a journal to explore the triumphs and challenges in their own life.

Students use the steps of the Scientific Method to develop and test their own ideas through experimentation with ants.

Students investigate U.S. history by listening to an economics lecture. In this U.S. government lesson, students research the "New Deal" which happened after the Great Depression. Students identify movies, books and music from the...

Capture the engagement of your young mathematicians with a collaborative graphing activity. Using a deck of zoo animal picture cards, learners select a picture from the deck, record the chosen animal on a graph,...