What did Lincoln want? Historians still debate this question, and perhaps people will never fully know. Class members examine the legacies of the war, including the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The lesson plan also...

Using the net of a can, learners develop formulas for the surface area and volume of a cylinder. They then apply their formulas to solve problems about a cylindrical container used to disperse confetti.

The Continental Army's victory at the Battle of Trenton marked a turning point in the American Revolution. Young historians examine maps, read primary source materials, and create a timeline of events to understand why the victory was so...

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...

Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is the focus of an 11-page packet that includes three lesson plans, three worksheets, and a homework assignment. The first lesson introduces readers to the historical context of the novel. At the same time,...

Provide tweens and teens with information they need to know about stress with an article that details how stress affects various organs in the body. The article also offers tips for healthy ways to cope with stress.

A night in the forest, a fairy king and queen, adolescent rebellion, magic potions, love triangles, a funny play about a tragedy, a plot that, rather than running smooth, runs amok? Of course, 'Twould be a guide for teaching...

W. W. Jacobs' horror story, "The Monkey's Paw," is used to introduce foreshadowing. As they advance through the story, young readers make predictions about what might happen next and how the story might end. Pairs work through the...

Young grammarians will go to town with a lesson that doodles with macaroni! Scholars cook up sentences with the addition of commas, which makes all the difference in their meaning.

Track character development with an excerpt from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. As tenth graders examine the relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother, they compare both characters' expectations of each other in the chapter "Two Kinds."

A parent's influence on a child is one of the most formative factors in developing life. Discuss the importance of the parental relationships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights with a written...

Guided by the provided questions, readers of David Mitchell's "Hangman" examine the author's figurative language to develop the constant struggle in Jason and Hangman's relationship.

How does word choice influence the meaning and tone of a text? To answer this question, class members listen to a masterful reading of a passage from David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and then work with a partner to conduct a close...

Class members continue their reading of Ethan Canin's "The Palace Thief," focusing on how the relationship between the narrator and Sedgewick changes after the narrator meets Sedgewick's father.

Readers of "The Palace Thief" continue examining Ethan Canin’s short story and consider how the narrator's actions develop the central idea of how one's expectations and the expectations of others influence behavior.

Readers of "The Palace Thief" focus on how the author's descriptions and word choices reveal the characters of the narrator, Sedgewick, and the senator.

Can a life gone wrong be blamed on a single childhood incident? Hundert, the narrator of "The Palace Thief," and readers struggle with this question as they ponder events in Ethan Canin's story.

The complex relationship between a teacher and his student takes center stage in an instructional activity that asks readers to pay close attention to how author Ethan Canin introduces his characters and how he develops the character of...

Class members begin their study of Romeo and Juliet by examining the words Shakespeare chooses in the Prologue to Act I to create the tragic tone of his famous play about star-crossed lovers.

Class members watch the clip of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in which Benvolio persuades Romeo to go with him to the Capulet ball to see Rosaline. Pairs then examine Act 1, scene 3, lines 64–100, and consider how Shakespeare develops...

Class members listen to a masterful reading of Act 1, Scene 1, lines 203-236 of Romeo and Juliet and then break into groups to examine how Shakespeare uses figurative language to develop Romeo's idealized concept of beauty.

Class members continue their study of Romeo and Juliet by watching scenes from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and then examining the figurative language Shakespeare uses in Act 1, scene 5, lines 92–109 when Romeo and Juliet meet at the ball.

How does Shakespeare use dialogue to develop the idea that the star-crossed lovers are more concerned with their relationship as individuals than they are with their roles as children of warring families? That is the question facing...

After viewing Baz Luhrmann’s depiction of Romeo and Juliet's marriage, the class listens to a recording of Act 3, Scene 1, lines 59–110. Then, groups consider how Shakespeare develops Romeo’s character through his interactions with...