The second lesson in a unit on set design focuses on the importance of historical and stylistic research. Working in teams created in the previous session, groups consider what resources they will use as they consider design concepts for...

Using discoveries and inventions as the focus, learners complete a research project. First, they come up with research questions. Then, they conduct research on the topic. Finally, they write a research paper.

Help young researchers find credible sources online. Modeling with a Google search for information about Shakespeare’s Macbeth, use a computer projector or Smart Board to show class members how weak the top three search results are....

Quidditch anyone? Here's a fun way to introduce your class to the resources available in the library as well as on the Internet. Researchers create an outline of the sources they locate about Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, quidditch, and...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

Demonstrate how to cite information from Internet sources without plagiarizing. If your class is working on an Internet research paper, and you have observed learners cutting and pasting directly from the Internet, the activities and...

While the ideas for Ancient Greek research are solid, there is little detail to help make your job easier. The focus here is familiarizing your class with online databases and print resources in their school library. After direct...

Elementary schoolers learn about young John F. Kennedy. After a teacher-led discussion about his high school years, pupils examine a photograph of Kennedy and four of his friends taken on the grounds of the Choate School in Connecticut....

As part of a unit devoted to the study of autobiographies, this one-day library session focuses on developing research skills. Class members locate and properly cite a sketch of a Creative Commons image, as well as record the call...

Merge technology and wellness. Class members complete inquiry-based research on a personal wellness issue and create an annotated bibliography, uploading their completed work to their personal wellness websites. Prior to beginning, your...

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...

A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Using the online catalog, researchers locate and record on a citation template specific sources for their research paper. A library specialist models searching strategies while the teacher introduces the research paper process. Daily...

Learners engage in science, math, and language activities as they do research on the components of the solar system. The class begins with some anticipatory activities and discussions before it is divided into small groups to conduct...

What a wonderful way to explore this topic! Learners take an imaginary trip to Asia, take a visual tour, and formulate questions for a research project. As a final project, they create a travel brochure.

All the tools (and directions) you’ll need  to build an essay are included in a resource designed for learners and educators. The packet can be given to class members or divided into sections and used as part of a series of lesson...

Have your Spanish speakers give museum tours with this interactive plan. To simplify this entertaining idea, bring in art pieces and create a gallery in your very own classroom. Provide the names of different works of art and have your...

This is the third in a series of lessons scaffolding the research paper. It purports to teach researchers how to evaluate internet sites, but the lack of links, specific criteria, or site evaluation rubrics would require additional...

The concept of change over time is presented in this history lesson. In it, learners discuss how some things stay the same over time, while other things change. Teams of students research and create a timeline of important events that...

Model for your class how to craft an analysis of a sonnet by examining the literary techniques used, the background of the poet, and critical reviews of the poem. As guided practice, learners are assigned a sonnet, complete a preliminary...

Explore animal habitats and reinforce speaking, listening, reading comprehension, and writing skills with a unit that focuses on the Arctic, desert, ocean, prairie, and rainforest. Enthusiastic scientists read informational text to...

Have your learners review what they know about camouflage using this activity. Learners fill out a graphic organizer listing what they know or have questions about. This could be enhanced with the addition of a writing assignment in...

Upper elementary and middle schoolers study the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that was once-thought to be extinct. Learners explore the responsibility of people to preserve habitats, and take care of the animals who live in...