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...

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...

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...

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...

Students 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...

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...

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...

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.

Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "The Southern Colonies: Quest for Prosperity,"begin to analyze the motivation behind European colonization. They convey the setting of the scene into a writing piece to illustrate the...

Students explore birds, their territory, breeding, and seasonal movement. They research and collect information on birds through writing letters to ornithologists, reading in books, comparing web sites, and observing pictures. Students...

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...

Learners 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.

Students research bees. In this organisms lesson, students participate in various learning centers to find out more about bees. The centers include watching a video and taking notes, reading books about bees, and going on a WebQuest. As...

Young scholars read and discuss Boyle's Mechanical Philosophy and his rejection of Aristotle's theory of "Forms and Qualities." They answer a given set of questions and discuss these with the class.

If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive lesson allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and provides...

In a perfect marriage of social studies and science, groups work together to research and create a travel guide presentation to share with the class. Not only do kids learn about the climate and geography of a biome, but also the...

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...

Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...

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.

Pupils 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.

Young scholars 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.

Eighth graders read the short biographical sketch and selected poems of Langston Hughes, 8th graders examine the hardships historically faced by Black Americans through class discussion, interpretation, and journaling.

Students participate in various reading and writing activities related to the book "Wheels, Wings and Other Things" by Monica Hughes and Barbara Hunter. They participate in a shared reading activity, and write a new page for a book...