Develop concepts on how to change your improving wordsmiths' writing from blah to wow with the activities and ideas in this resource. The instructor provides the class with examples of writing that lacks detail and precision, and then...

"Plot the plot" of "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" with your young readers. Take a few days to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as a class or in pairs, having learners write down what they consider to be the most important...

Continue work on the two-piece poem that compares two characters from Esperanza Rising. Give class members a few minutes to finish their drafts. After they have a complete product, model how to critique and edit the poems with one group....

With the use of an online editing site, budding authors revise their writing. This is a creative way to have your class practice essay revision. Instead of being a tedious process, editing and revising can be fun.

In collaborative groups, young US historians sort cards (each labeled with a single early American event or issue) according to which of the first four presidents was leading the country at the time. Learners copy the events onto a...

Gradually build understanding of author's point of view through a scaffolded set of exercises. Moving from direct instruction, to collaborative work, and eventually to independent practice, these steps will assist your class in...

Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first lesson in this four-part...

How many people live on the planet, anyway? The first resource in a six-part series covers the topic of the world population. Scholars work in groups to conduct research and make population posters after learning about the global...

After a class discussion on strategies pupils can use to pre-write, learners are given a topic which they use to guide them in selecting a book to read. Everyone uses a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to write down information from the...

Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...

If you think Dr. Seuss has no place in a math classroom, then take a look at this resource. Based on the classic children's book Green Eggs and Ham, this sequence of activities engages children learning to model real-world contexts...

How is it possible that such an old document still triggers modern discussions? Teach scholars why the Declaration of Independence is still so important today using an informative resource. They watch various educational videos, work in...

What, if anything, makes a war "just"? This is an interesting and important question to explore with your class, and you can utilize an excellent lesson plan to support your group inquiry. The American Revolution and the War of 1812...

Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a lesson plan on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary...

In a math or life science class, "mini-me" models are created with cardstock to reflect a 1:10 scale of students' bodies. Learners measure each others' heights with meter sticks, and then reduce the size by 10. After this exercise, they...

A well-written lesson plan, second in a series of four, gets high schoolers exploring how the Antarctic food web is impacted by climate change and the associated melting of polar ice sheets. It begins with a PowerPoint presentation about...

The Women's Rights movement is the focus of an engaging and collaborative exercise, in which young historians use information found in textbooks, class notes, and the provided documents to craft a DBQ essay.

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Ready for an educational movie day? Use a resource based on the movie Whale Rider to learn more about the Maori culture. Class members answer a variety of questions and listen to music from the soundtrack to further analyze and...

Entangle your life science class in learning with this collaborative food web activity. Using pictures of the plants and animals native to a particular ecosystem, young biologists work in small groups to construct visual...

What happened in the Supreme Court case of McCulloch v. Maryland? The resource teaches the specifics of the case with a video and provided discussion questions covering issues such as precedent and the Supreme Court as an equal branch of...

Develop young mathematicians' understanding of place value with this hands-on math activity. Working in pairs, learners take turns building two-digit numbers by rolling two ten-sided dice. Base ten blocks are then used to model the...

How does the Supreme Court Miranda decision affect court cases? Scholars watch a video about the decision, discuss its application in various cases, fill out multiple handouts, and work in groups to better understand how much weight the...

Looking for an out-of-this-world volcanic activity? Geologists study Earth's volcanic history and the neighboring planet Mars by modeling volcanic eruptions, lava flows, and building a shield volcano. Participants use graph paper and...