As a summative assessment for this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders listen to and read informational texts in order to demonstrate their ability to take notes, write summaries, and draw connections. Young scholars first listen as...

Students create tables in a word processing program which helps them organize their text clues when reading a mystery story. They develop reading comprehension strategies while using a computer based graphic organizer in order to solve...

Although the article that launches this lesson is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one essay....

How did the United States Congress determine how the new president and vice president would be named when the nation was first established? Who would provide money for the government, and how would the executive branch be organized? 

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Why do we read primary source documents? What can they give us that other writings cannot? Provide your learners with any of the primary sources attached here (there are seven), and have them complete the graphic organizer (which opens...

Young scholars read a current science article. They write a summary of the article, take notes, write and edit a summary, and print their work.

Every state uses a set of rights to establish laws and regulations. Explore the Wyandotte Constitution as it was written in 1859 and compare it with how rights in Kansas have changed, especially those that pertain to gender and race. A...

One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...

Here is a handy guide for putting together a research report on birds, or on a selection of other topics (see the added materials.). Individuals are guided to think of three questions about their topic, they narrow down subtopics, use a...

Second graders research their family history and how it connects them to the past. They identify their ancestors, graphically organize relatives in a family tree, and chart significant events in their lives on a timeline.

Examine the text features of non-fiction. Start the lesson by reading editorial samples provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization. An editorial example and graphic organizer are...

Locating and synthesizing information is an essential part of the research process but can be overwhelming for many young writers. Eliminate some of the stress and confusion, this resource suggests, by separating these steps. To focus...

Learners read to locate information about the stages of a frog's life and organize on a chart.

Learners create a title page, organize information, and write the introductory paragraph to a research paper.  In this research writing lesson, students discuss the elements of the title page and outline, then write one of their...

Young scholars create story webs to aid comprehension of ecosystems. In this reading strategies instructional activity, students discover the importance of organizing information while reading a nonfiction text. Young scholars produce...

Middle schoolers engage in a lesson which reminds them that root words indicate the base meaning of a word, and that those roots are found in many different words that have similar meanings. Pairs of pupils use construction paper and...

What a great project. Graphic arts students consider the social, political, and economic impact made by a chosen invention. They build an argument to substantiate their reasons for choosing said invention. They create an oral...

Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers. 

Students conduct Internet research about the states and use educational software to graphically organize the facts they have studied. As a class, students create posters and bulletin boards of the 50 states.

Write what you know, sound advice for any writer and something many famous authors are known to have done. Use these materials to explore how Shakespeare's life influenced his plays. This resource is packed with readings, video segments,...

I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...