An excerpt from Michel de Montaigne's essay "On Cruelty" provides advanced readers an opportunity to polish their close reading skills. Scholars read the passage twice and then respond to the provided questions.

After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and an article about the use of the novel, class members engage in a Socratic seminar focused on whether or not Twain's book should be banned.

Young historians climb through the three branches of the US government in the third lesson of this five-part series. While reading the first three Articles of the Constitution in small groups, children write facts on paper leaves...

Ready to integrate technology into your ELL instruction? Check out this reading lesson that has language learners using the Internet and apps, joining online book clubs, and creating blogs. A fine model of what can be done.

Here's a must-have resource. Whether your focus is racism, the Great Depression, the "Scottsboro Boys" trial, or part of a reading of To Kill A Mockingbird, the information contained in the seven-page packet will save hours of...

A 10-page guide to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men includes a brief plot summary, information about preparing readers for the language in the novel, pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading questions, essay prompts, and project...

The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...

Unauthorized immigration is a complex and hotly debated topic. Class members read an article that examines the issues that motivate unauthorized immigration. Teams then assume the role of special interest groups and present their...

There's more to newspaper articles than meets the eye. Scholars learn the different features of a newspaper article, including headline, byline, subheadings, etc. Pupils circle the features in an article as the teacher discusses their...

Should Juneteenth be recognized as a national holiday? To prepare to take a stance on this question, young historians first analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and compare it to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. Scholars then read an...

Imagine a packet packed with reading resources designed for every grade and reading level. Imagine worksheets, graphic organizers, flash cards, activities, and exercises. This is just such a packet and is well worth...

Enhance a reading of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this collection of learning activities. Starting with general background information about the book and author,...

What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...

Your learners have probably heard of climate change, but do they really understand what it is? Study the history, details, and future implications of global warming and the greenhouse effect with a set of activities designed for an...

As a reading comprehension exercise, kids read an article about indentured servants and then respond to a series of questions citing evidence from the article to support their responses.

Silly journal and essay prompts may be fun to write, but they don't model the kind of writing needed for college papers and standardized tests. The 15th part in a series of 24 covers the concept of reading to write—during and after...

Explore the concepts of community and point of view with these activities complementing the children's book Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Following a class reading of the story, ask students to either draw a map of the...

The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...

Active and passive systems used to transport materials to and from cells are the subject of a comprehension worksheet that asks readers to use information from the article to answer a series of questions based on the text.

Malala Yousafzai has become the face of social activism. After watching He Named Me Malala and short student-made films about what young people can do to become instruments of change, class members reflect on what it means to be an...

William Shakespeare: a writer, a poet, a fake? For their mid-unit assessments, scholars read an excerpt from the article "The Top Ten Reasons Shakespeare Did Not Write Shakespeare" by Keir Cutler. Next, they analyze the author's argument...

Pass the chalk! Pupils participate in a Chalk Talk activity to synthesize information from multiple texts about Roberto Clemente and Althea Gibson. Scholars also read an informational article about one of the athletes, searching for...

Language learners get into the swing of things with a jazzy lesson plan about similes. They read an article about Duke Ellington, listen to samples of his music, and then try their hand at crafting similes to describe his improvisational...

Has United States military intervention in the conflicts of other countries always been warranted? After reviewing a brief background on contemporary US conflicts and reading articles describing the civil war in Syria, your learners...