The intricate craft of narrative writing can make a happy story feel exuberant or a sad story feel devastating. With 42 extensive lessons that include poignant discussion questions, standards-aligned self-reflections, engaging writing...

Having prepared for an analysis essay about one of the characters from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, tenth graders demonstrate their understanding in a mid-unit assessment. They focus on either Jing-Mei or Waverly in an informative...

Learners use a jigsaw activity to examine characters in "Left Behind." Each group member focuses on a different character and then regroups to those with the same focus. Class members then return to their home groups for discussion...

This four to five day mini dance unit has many components. Discussion on what makes a good dance partner, research on famous dancing pairs, as well as learning a choreographed piece in class. The class learns a short dance sequence and...

Canadian figures in history is the focus of this activity series. High schoolers study important social figures throughout Canadian history. They study their writings and legacies. Learners recreate an oral legend which focuses on one...

Students use a light microscope to observe the organisms living in a sample of ocean or fresh water. Students create a drawing of the organisms that they observe. Students then discuss the different body plans of the organisms and the...

There are not many more apt examples of ethics gone awry than William Golding's Lord of the Flies.. Ninth graders focus the ethics of decision making with the examples provided in the plot. They focus on the...

There are six word exercises provided here, although they're not necessarily linked together. The first short practice asks learners to give compound words that use the list of words provided. The second asks learners to identify...

Students explore parabolas.  In this algebra and technology lesson, students construct the equation of a specific parabola, then take digital photos of real-life representations of these parabolas.  Students create a podcast...

Focus on presentation techniques with this lesson, which prompts middle schoolers give an impromptu speech. They practice public speaking by giving a short unprepared speech. Some preparations are made to include an introduction, body,...

Different types of community helpers are the focus of this sociology lesson. Learners read the book Community Helpers from A to Z, choose a community helper to focus on, complete a graphic organizer, draw a picture of their helper, and...

To help learners better comprehend informational texts, they work through a series of activities. They discuss strategies, make predictions, skim passages, focus on key words, and practice taking notes. This lesson focuses on what to do...

Are your advanced learners reading authentic Latin this year? Whether you're teaching Caesar, Cicero or Virgil, use some of these strategies to map out your unit. What do you focus on? Consider taking small passages and making that the...

So often, genetics worksheets focus on alleles and heredity. Here is one that focuses on the steps of the gene expression process. After reading a textbook chapter or listening to your lecture, AP biology buffs write short answers to...

The history of the Latin American revolutions - and the philosophies behind them - is the focus of this comprehensive presentation. From the theories of the European Enlightenment, to the Revolutionary Wars of America and France, Latin...

Participate in writing poetry as a group. Focused on a given theme, young writers compose a popcorn poem using sensing verbs and adverbs. They write popcorn poems, onomatopoeias, collective poems, and diamond poems. You could introduce...

Looking for a comprehensive resource to accompany Western Civilizations, 16th edition? This site follows the text with online response tools such as chapter quizzes, interactive maps, focus questions, and flash cards. Chapter 4 focuses...

English learners will match pictures to sentences that focus on order processing for shipping. This business related activity also focuses on transitions words (first, next, after, finally).

This simple presentation has students focus on the objective of sentences they write. The focus is on being concise and clear in their sentence writing. They practice writing sentences based on the instructions given in the slides. Some...

Many of us focus on the causes and effects of the Dust Bowl as it relates to people. Why not shift the focus of cause and effects to how the Dust Bowl affected the environment. Here is a different take on the tried-and-true Dust Bowl...

Young writers practice their letters in this tracing learning exercise focused on the lower-case i. They focus on how the "magic pencil" writes, and try a few on their own. Next, they trace letters to complete four CVC words, and add an...

With the Common Core State Standards' growing focus on informational text, it's the perfect time to showcase this PowerPoint to your team of teachers. It's 59 slides focus on seven best practice structures: reading-as-thinking,...

Focus on -ar verbs with this practice opportunity. Learners recall regular -ar verb endings, translate a list of verbs into Spanish -ar verbs, and complete a short fill-in-the-blank activity that focuses on conjugation. A great resource!

Practice pronunciation while asking and answering questions. Four exercises give learners different opportunities to practice. The first exercise focuses on pronunciation. The second exercise requires the learner to fill in the correct...