Was Puritan society governed as more of a theocracy or democracy? After comparing and contrasting a series of primary source documents, middle and high schoolers form small groups and debate the question.

Eleventh graders review the goals of John Winthrop.  In this American History lesson plan, 11th graders read Winthrop's speech and summarize his key points.  Students predict the possibilities for success and failure in the...

Students examine the efforts of early American manufacturers to implement the factory system on a large-scale in the town of Lowell, Massachusetts. They examine the idealistic goals of the industrialists who financed and built the...

Students examine maps of Palmer, Massachusetts and practice giving directions. As a class, they discuss how it changed from a farming community to more industrial. To end the lesson plan, they take pictures of the community to show how...

A well-developed art lesson is always great to have around. This lesson on portrait drawing includes a full procedure, modifications, background information on artist Chuck Close, recommended websites, and a few thoughts from the...

The class examines the new tax cut plan proposed by President Bush. They practice calculating income tax rates and interpreting the data. Then they research topics that are of interest to them related to taxes.

Learners view and analyze three different images related to the Battle of Lexington and Concord. They also answer a variety of questions in a graphic organizer to help keep the information straight.

Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...

Pilgrims, puritans, and Pennsylvania are all featured in a reading comprehension activity that asks kids to read a short passage about these early settlers and then to answer a series of questions based on the article.

As a class, scholars read the poems, Humpty Dumpty, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, and Jack and Jill, in order to identify words with the same ending sound. Using their rhyming skills, learners brainstorm additional words...

How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...

In this everyday editing worksheet, learners correct grammatical errors in a short paragraph about George H. W. Bush. The errors range from punctuation, spelling, grammar, and capitalization.

In this everyday editing learning exercise, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about Johnny Appleseed. The errors range in grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

For this everyday editing activity, learners correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about educator Horace Mann. The errors range from capitalization, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about President John Adams. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study. 

Learners hone their drawing techniques to create a nature-inspired piece of art. They practice hatching, cross hatching, stippling, and shading. They discuss how each method is better suited for creating specific elements in nature such...

Near Thanksgiving, learners complete activities surrounding the holiday. Some of the activities include a passage, matching phrases, fill in the blanks, correct word choosing, multiple choice, sequencing, unscramble the sentences, write...

Learners recognize and identify onomatopoeia. They will read the book All Aboard! A True Train Story, by Susan Kuklin. After reading the book, they list and illustrate examples of onomatopoeia. Then they write a poem or...

Students find triangular angles using the angle theorem. In this geometry lesson, students describe labeled triangles, use the pythagorean theorem, and rewrite information about triangles in standard form.

Games are great for practicing any number of basic skills. Here is a set of wonderful instructions for making a braille version of a spinning game, where children win points by correctly reading/identifying the high-frequency words the...

Read about the tumultuous beginning to the United States with an informational text passage about Colonial America. As young researchers peruse an article about the arrival of the Mayflower, the settlers' relationship to the neighboring...

Make a connection between empathy and bullying with a reading passage that has readers thinking about other people's feelings. After reading, learners respond to ten reading comprehension questions involving short answer and multiple...

Gain information about Clara Barton, a Civil War hero, and enhance reading comprehension skills with a worksheet that challenges scholars to read an informational passage and answer five short answer questions.