Middle schoolers listen to a media clip of a teacher-selected speech and analyze it for speaker's purpose using a Speaker’s Purpose graphic organizer. Pupils pair up to discuss their completed organizers and add any new information they...

Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...

Scholars begin the instructional activity by watching a video of media history and discussing it in a Turn and Talk. They then look at the texts A Mighty Long Way and Little Rock Girl 1957 to make a connection to the role of the press in...

Don't wait for a crisis to get your finances together. An economics lesson demonstrates the importance of understanding crucial documents, banking basics, and financial tools with the focus on Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and its effects.

Scholars analyze various photos to determine how the people pictured take a stand. They use a Notice/Wonder Note Catcher to help organize their thoughts. Learners then study a Taking a Stand: Frayer Model handout to learn what it means...

How do authors play to people's moods? After briefly reviewing mood using a Conditional and Subjunctive Mood handout, learners practice identifying conditional and subjunctive sentences in the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech before reading...

Which side are you on? Scholars watch a video of John Stossel discussing the use of DDT pesticide. Learners talk about the purpose of the video and the speaker's argument and then complete a Tracing an Argument graphic organizer while...

Get the facts straight. Scholars complete their mid-unit assessment by reading a text, watching a video, and observing a picture about howler monkeys. They take notes about the facts they discover to use in future lessons.

A 55-page unit examines the novel, The BFG, by Roald Dahl. Six lessons pay close attention to friendship, dreams, and believing themes while analyzing interesting characters, writing creative vocabulary, smilies, metaphors, an exciting...

Here is an activity that blends genetic technology, literacy skills, and critical thinking. Pupils review background information about cell lines and CRISPR by video and teacher-led discussion. Scholars collaborate to analyze two...

From checking and savings accounts to learning the importance of maintaining records and balancing a bank account, prepare your students to become financially independent and savvy adults, and explore all the intricacies of owning a bank...

Throughout 10 lessons, fourth graders learn how to plan, organize, write, and edit their own personal narratives. In the beginning, young writers come up with ideas of personal experiences and the emotions linked with those experiences....

Pay attention to details! After completing text-dependent questions about paragraphs 10-12 of "Water is Life," scholars view the video "Why Care about Water. "They view the video three times and use a Main Idea and Details note-catcher...

Everything you need to know about informational text features can be found in this resource. Recognizing these types of text features and how they are used in text allows readers to better understand information. Teachers...

For every action there is a consequence. Scholars continue their work on creating a cascading consequence chart about DDT using Welcome Back, The Exterminator, Rachel Carson: Sounding the Alarm on Pollution along...

Looking for ways to include your class members in Autism Awareness Month? Use a packet that provides several opportunities to include the student body in an important campaign. 

Stressed out? To begin a mental and emotional health unit, participants take a stress test to determine their level of stress. They study the effects of stress, identify sources of stress in their lives, and learn different ways to...

If your school requires a senior research paper or if you are considering one for your class, then this resource is for you. The 43-page packet includes everything from a sample letter to parents to requirements, from topic suggestions...

Is it worth it? Scholars complete the end of unit assessment by participating in a fishbowl discussion to consider if the benefits of DDT outweigh the consequences. They reflect on their discussions by completing an exit ticket.

Talk it out. Scholars complete part two of the assessment by participating in a World Café discussion activity. Learners circulate the room, sharing their ideas and thoughts about Canada's natural resources using quotes and paraphrasing...

After reading Loree Leedy's There's a Frog in My Throat: 440 Animal Sayings a Little Bird Told Me, kids create and illustrate their own poems that convey the meaning of an idiom. The poems are then transferred into Shutterfly's Photo...

A reading of Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia launches a study of idioms. Groups then select several idioms, write the meaning of the expressions, draw or select images, and use GIMP or Photoshop to create an idiom book. 

To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...

Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...