Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Investigate ethical issues surrounding the Decode project in Iceland. Middle and high schoolers take the positions of the Icelandic government, scientific researchers, and citizens and defend or refute the Decode project in a Reykjavik...

Students imagine themselves on a field trip to Seoul, Korea. They use the 5-W questioning method to decide how to gain information about the city.

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

After reading Julius Caesar 1.2 and 1.3, break your class into pairs for this role-play. Each pair will receive one of four prompts (or more, if you create additional examples), in which one person tries to persuade the other to do...

Building an argument with supporting evidence is a vital skill. Learners engage in a debate over the annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. They take on the perspective of an individual from that time period,...

Youngsters use puppets and role playing to explore how they feel when excluded by their peers. They brainstorm ways to feel better when this happens and how to avoid excluding others. There's nothing worse than feeling excluded or left...

Young historians research the devastating attacks of 9/11 and use that information to script their own documentaries. The follow-up activity includes recording the documentary and conducting classmate interviews, 

What is the missing link? Provide your class with this incomplete essay (it's missing transition words), and have writers place words from the transition word bank into the essay. Also, since only three of the five paragraphs are...

Research water use in California, environmental protection laws, and the proposition to raise Shasta Dam by 200 feet. Researchers use their findings to build an argument which will be presented at a mock decision panel. Groups then...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Bring technology to your novel unit with this lesson, which prompts readers to analyze a book they are reading in a Socratic discussion with their classmates. They create a live blog online in which they can give their opinions and...

Study opposing viewpoints with this instructional activity, which examines President Bush's September 2004 address at the United Nations. Middle schoolers study the text of the address, and then stage formal debates arguing for or...

Learners examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the victory...

High schoolers read sales promotion reports and create a sales promotion summary using information from the report. They develop a graphic organizer to outline their information for a presentation. There is an assessment checklist...

Students research the job marketplace and try to find a job for themselves. In this job search lesson plan, students make a list of possible job sites, read the Child Labor Laws, and complete the application process for a job. Students...

Students discuss the role of taxes and tax deductions in the maintence of community services. A practice W-4 form is completed by students who identify their exemptions. This lesson is intended for students acquiring English.

High schoolers research and discuss the 2000 presidential election. They role-play Al Gore's and George W. Bush's legal teams, and members of the Florida Supreme Court. They of each legal team present their arguments to the Supreme Court.

Ninth graders brainstorm different situations in which formal English is used. Individually, they describe how people would act if they were invited to the White House for dinner and what they would do. To end the lesson, they role...

Eighth graders apply their knowledge of the past week's lessons to the game, Jeopardy: American History Style. They think of a team name, and review the categories to determine their strongest area. Students are told the game rules. ...

Third graders explore language arts by analyzing a children's story in class. In this story structure lesson, 3rd graders read the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and write a brief summary. Students identify the beginning,...

Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured...

Fifth graders explore the major components of the water cycle. They pay close attention to evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. A water cycle kit is set up in the classroom, which learners observe for a couple of days before the...

Given a variety of rocks, junior geologists calculate densities and correlate them to Earth's layers. As a simulation of continental crust, they experiment with how materials of differing density float in water. Finally, they...