Introduce young readers to informational texts with a well-designed, ready-to-use, and Common Core-aligned unit. Young readers learn a variety of skills while studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As the first...

Here is a mid-unit assessment for a group of lessons studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The first half of this instructional activity calls for several forms of review. Your class will review the content of the...

Before continuing to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, learners need to understand why and how this document was written. First, show and discuss a video from UNICEF to demonstrate the need for such a document. Then...

Close the unit on Esperanza Rising with an in-class analytic essay on how Esperanza changes over the course of the novel. Writers can use any of their notes and work from the unit as well as their drafts of the first two paragraphs of...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

Encourage your young writers to thoughtfully plan and organize their work. First, model how this is done and vocalize your thought process as you work. Next, create a class list of strategies that they can use during independent writing...

Acquaint your class with informational text through a close reading. First, examine a couple of pages together, looking at text features and content. The whole class focuses on marking down a brief summary of each paragraph before...

Scholars reflect upon their reading strengths and challenges to create personal reading goals. Participants use goal-setting verbiage in an accordion-style graphic organizer, a first step in writing a letter that details their reading...

What's the story? Learners create the first of four storyboards about the invention of the television, incorporating narrative techniques and descriptive details. Next, they offer and receive feedback by participating in a peer critique...

Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...

Here is a lesson plan that invites learners to engage in a kinesthetic activity that allows them to physically move and manipulate words in order to think about ways to understand vocabulary in context. After that activity is complete,...

How can you tell when an author is expression an opinion or stating a fact? Use two short reading selections to emphasize the difference between a statement that you can prove and one that you can't. The first passage explains food...

First there were ten cookies and then there were none. Who ate all the cookies? After reading a short poem that counts down from 10 as cookies are eaten, class members respond to four comprehsnion questions.

Explore functions with non-constant rates of change. The first installment of a 12-part module teaches young mathematicians about the concept of a function. They investigate instances where functions do not have a constant rate of change.

Enhance your lesson on Shakespeare with this poetry activity. After reading lines 139-167 from As You Like It Act II, Scene 7 (provided on the first page), middle schoolers work on a graphic organizer to paraphrase each...

For employers and recruiters, the first step in their quest to find good candidates is the paper screening process. They look at a candidate's application and resume and push forward the files of those who meet their requirements. Thus...

Math modeling is made easy with the first installment of a 16-part module that teaches pupils to model real-world situations as linear relationships. They create graphs, tables of values, and equations given verbal descriptions.

Prove the Pythagorean Theorem using multiple informal proofs. Scholars first develop an understanding of the origins of the Pythagorean Theorem through proofs. They round out the lesson by using the theorem to find missing side lengths...

No more inverting and multiplying to divide fractions. Applying concepts of measurement division from the previous lesson, pupils consider partitive division using fraction bars and number lines. They first convert fractions to like...

Six short answer questions challenge scholars to show what they know after reading a passage about a boy not so keen on his first trip to summer camp. 

Can the small cat catch the rat? Find out in a short passage designed for first graders, complete with four comprehension questions that address details from the text.

As the sun sets, what does the narrator see? After reading brief passage, first graders answer four comprehension questions about what they read.

How much does it cost to live the life your dream life? Scholars explore the pitfalls of personal finance through planning, discussion, and research. The first activity in a five-part series tasks individuals with determining an...

So, what's the plan? Seventh graders begin their college and career journey in the first of six lessons. After creating their online profiles on a career resource website, individuals conduct extensive research to determine the courses...