Let's make some sense of those thoughts! Scholars continue thinking about the different perspectives on Pearl Harbor. They analyze quotes from War in the Pacific, Day of Infamy, and Fourteen-Part Message. Readers tape each quote to chart...

Learners use a Analyzing Mediums handout to detail the advantages and disadvantages of communicating with mediums such as artwork, photographs, and political cartoons in the Japanese-American Internment during World War II primary...

A Reading Closely: Guiding Questions handout leads readers to discover the gist of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. While reading, pupils look closely at the words in the text and discuss their meaning. They use dictionaries when needed to answer...

Using an Author’s Purpose anchor chart, groups examine a variety of text to determine the author's purpose. They then apply what they have learned to The Omnivore’s Dilemma. In pairs, they discuss what the text is about and why...

Take a stand. Scholars consider what it means to take a stand in A Long Walk to Water. They complete an activity by taking a stand and moving to a labeled section of the room that matches their opinion. Readers then examine text...

Students develop debating and analytical thinking skills. They take a position in the Back-to-Africa discussion, based upon any readings and the two opposing essays they read. In groups, they discuss an issue from two different points...

Use a West African folktale to practice several different skills in your first grade classroom. Learners read The Clever Monkey Rides Again and focus on rhyming words, reading comprehension, measurement, art, movement, and word...

Read the story The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog: A Folktale from Great Britain by Margaret Read MacDonald and choose from multiple activities to learn about the tale's theme—kindness. With so many options, your kind kids will...

Neil Gaiman's award winning children's fantasy novel, The Graveyard Book, is the focus of a literary analysis overview. Those new to the novel can decide whether the book is appropriate for whole-class discussion or as a book circle...

Photographs capture a moment in time. And some of the best pictures demand that viewers not only ask questions about why the photo packs such an emotional wallop, but also about what happened before and after it was taken. A photograph...

A lunch-time activity encourages pupils to step out of their usual lunch bunch and connect with someone new. To begin, individuals examine a group photograph and identify what they believe is the gender, race, religion, and sexual...

A primary source set of photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and FBI reports provides insight into race relations during the 1960s, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the murder of Emmitt Till. Designed to be used to...

Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...

Sibling rivalry! Revenge! Ill-fated love! Wuthering Heights has it all! Lead readers through a study of this massive, poignant tale with the help of a 22-page teacher's guide. The guide includes a list of characters and their family...

Is the nature of humans inherently good or evil? That is the question scholars consider in the fourth lesson of the Lord of the Flies unit. In a Four Corners activity, they examine statements about human nature and stand by the poster...

Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...

It is, and it is not. Scholars examine how these words impact Eleanor Roosevelt's speech, in which she tries to persuade the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Readers note rhetoric and figurative language. They then...

Fourth graders recognize the need to sustain crops in the rainforest. For this rainforest lesson, 4th graders consider the use of products from the rainforest.  Students discuss how people of different points of view decide...

Whether new to teaching Beowulf or an experience pro, you'll find much to like in a richly detailed unit plan that asks readers to consider how the epic represents the difficulty in defining good and evil but also reflects the changing...

A powerful photograph of the Freedom Riders of 1961 launches an examination of the de jure and de facto injustices that the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s addressed. Young historians first watch a video and read the Supreme...

Analyzing arguments is key to critical thinking. Colorful slides teach viewers how to recognize the structure of an argument, the claims, and the validity of the evidence used to support an argument. Then, provided scenarios permit...

Mean girls and bully packs are favorite topic for films and TV shows that focus on the destructive power of cliques. High school freshmen are asked to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of cliques by reading a short...

As part of their study of the women's suffrage movement, groups analyze political cartoons and drawings. They create a caption for an image from the time, add an exhibit label that provides a context for their drawing, and post as part...

It's time for the feast! Young historians complete their study of the First Thanksgiving by completing an online activity, watching a slideshow, and examining a First Thanksgiving timeline. After answering text-dependent questions to...