Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...

The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...

It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They...

Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...

Introduce young learners to the read-aloud process with a short biographical passage about Ray Charles. After listening to the passage, class members respond to factual, inferential, and evaluative questions, and then create a timeline...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently they...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This instructional activity includes several...

Young scholars examine the process of summarizing text. They participate in a class discussion, and read an assigned passage from their textbook, highlighting the main points of the text. Students then write a short summary of their...

Third graders conduct research. In this conducting research lesson, 3rd graders discuss the importance of nonfiction text in providing factual information. Students write questions about an assigned topic and research using informational...

How do statistics help people understand the universal refugee experience? Using the resource, scholars engage in an activity called a Chalk Talk, working in teams to analyze statistics from informational texts about refugees. Also, they...

Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.

A handy TFDC (topic/fact/detail/conclusion) graphic organizer (included) allows young writers to outline and record their main ideas and supporting details in the prewriting phase. They then continue to add details to the topic sentences...

Students identify factual information using their textbook as a source of inquiry. They become aware that a social studies text can be an object of historical investigation and develop a sense of questioning evidence as presented in...

Students explore melodram as a form of theatre. They write about lucid and factual news accounts and about sensationalism. Students gain experience in relating one time period with another and with doing historical research.

High schoolers listen to the song :King of Pain" by the Police. They identify different instrumentation and different rhythmic accompaniments to the opening vocal phrase and explore the text in-depth, discussing the various poetic...

Students distinguish facts from opinions.  In this biological science lesson, students research information on bees to decipher what things are proven true versus assumed.  They view a video and discuss what makes the...

Students decipher factual information about manatees.  In this biological science lesson, students research characteristics about manatees.  They use that information to separate facts from common opinions about the...

Students examine the discovery of the Americas.  In this US History lesson, students investigate the theory that Chinese explorers initially discovered America.  They collect research from a variety of sources, and distinguish...

Students explore journalism by reading a book in class. In this factual research lesson, students read a portion of a Magic School Bus book and identify parts that seem to be factual and fictional. Students view an episode of the Magic...

Second graders read The True Story of Balto, research Alaskan Iditarod, select factual information, and prepare presentation on the computer to present to their classmates.

Second graders use a double bubble thinking map to compare newspapers and magazines. They browse through magazines and newspapers to identify characteristics of each type of text and find 5 features for each type of text. They share...

Students listen and restate facts from a text. They gather and organize information as a class. They create a report and present it to their classmates.

Students watch the movie Shrek and compose a text that displays an understanding of the film. Also, they create writing that reflects a critical analysis of content and a personal interpretation of the film's meaning.