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.

Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...

Who is to blame for Bernie Madoff's crime? Class members look for evidence Diana B. Henriques uses in The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust to support her claims that we share the responsibility with Madoff.

Asking questions often leads to more questions. In a research instructional activity based on Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, ninth graders formulate claims based on the synthesis and analysis of each of their inquiry paths. A...

As first-year students continue to investigate how sugar changed the world, the focus shifts to a consideration of why people with limited job options take on dangerous or subjugating work. Class members read an opinion piece by Nicholas...

What skills do employers look for in potential employees? Introduce scholars to the skills that pay the bills during the second of six career and college readiness lesson plans. Once they have defined critical 21st-century skills, groups...

As the first in a two-part, end-of-unit assessment that encourages readers to synthesize the unit's main ideas, class members review their notes for each of the three texts they read and develop three open-ended discussion questions...

Writers complete editing and polishing the final draft of their research paper and submit the document for assessment.

Building on the previous discussion of the supplemental reading article "Where Sweatshops Are a Dream," class members use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to identify the claims and evidence Nicholas Kristof uses to...

Crafting a clear and cohesive conclusion to any piece of writing is crucial. An effective conclusion restates the central claim in the introduction, briefly summarizes the supporting claims, and presents a new way of thinking about the...

Learners make several models of the solar system to learn the positions of the planets in the solar system as well as relative distances and sizes. Creation of these models will help them identify the planets by size, shape, color,...

The 12th lesson in a series of 20 opens with a demonstration of exponential functions using pasta. This concept is connected to the Richter Scale, which is also an exponential function. Scholars compare the exponential scale that...

Looking for a instructional activity that teaches class members how to analyze nonfiction? Use Joseph McCarthy's famous "Enemies from Within" speech as a instructional text. Worksheet questions direct readers' attention to the many...

Middle schoolers remember the September 11 terrorist attacks. In this public memorials lesson, students research 20th century memorials. Middle schoolers then design their own memorials for the victims at the World Trade Center...

Students compare and contrast the response to Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the response to terrorism in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001. They conduct Internet research, complete a worksheet, and develop a plan based on their own ideas how the...

Learners examine post 9/11 backlash. In this hate crimes lesson, students watch "Dastaar," a documentary featuring Sikh discrimination. Learners discuss their impressions of the documentary.

Students watch a video clip from "The Path to 9/11" and write a summary of one of the events depicted. Next, they read the 9/11 Commission Report to compare information from the report to that of the media clip. They chose one more print...

What are the basic first aid supplies that should be on a boat? What should be done when someone stops breathing and/or their heart stops beating? Lesson three is only one of twenty-two lessons on boat safety. This lesson is about first...

Careful proofreading is an important step in the writing process.  After guided practice using a provided worksheet that details common grammar concepts, young writers refer to the worksheet as they proofread their own work....

Turn your class' focus on how wheelchairs assist individuals with disabilities to become more independent with this disabilities lesson plan. Scholars listen to a read aloud of the book, Zoom! by Robert Munsch, answer...

Teach kids about the beginnings of the Braille writing system with a lesson about Louis Braille. A series of discussion questions guide young readers though A Picture Book of Louis Braille by David A. Adler, and once they finish the...

Help young learners understand friendship and empathy with two reading comprehension lessons. Each lesson focuses on a story about a child with autism, and encourages readers to compare and contrast the characters to each other and to...

Learn about how the seeing eye dog program began with a reading lesson plan about Eva Moore's chapter book, Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog. With vocabulary words, discussion questions, and extension resources, the lesson plan...

By participating in discussions using prompts and statements provided in the lesson plan, learners identify the concept of extremism and consider what causes violent acts of extremism in the modern world.