Considering using Robert Cormier's young adult novel, Tunes for Bears to Dance to for book circles or as a whole-class anchor text? Check out this overview of the key concepts and issues raised by the novel.

School subjects connect when your young scholars use math to edit English. Math allows you to convert an entire paragraph into a simple equation or inequality. Examples encourage learners to write expressions, equations, and inequalities...

What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....

Collaboration is the key for this equation-solving lesson. Learners solve a multi-step linear equation that requires using the distributive property. Within collaborative groups, scholars discuss multiple methods and troubleshoot mistakes.

Have you always wanted to take your science class on an amazing field trip they will never forget? Now you can! Observe the wildlife in an African savanna through trail cameras with a five-part data analysis activity. Learners analyze...

Don't let the length scare you away. An eBook version of David Copperfield contains all 1,307 pages of the story. This digital version of the classic coming-of-age novel follows the title character from childhood into adulthood,...

Great literature discussions are a consequence of carefully crafted questions, interpretative questions that permit more than one response, and responses supported by specific evidence from the text. The discussion questions in a guide...

The path to a more perfect union was rockier than most history books would lead you to believe. Young historians read “Antifederalist No. 47,” written by James Madison (under the pen name “Centinel”), which sharply criticizes the...

Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want with you? Robinson Crusoe of course! During his years stuck on an island, Crusoe learns to survive by making a canoe, finding food, and living in solitude. Scholars read...

The square root of five and five do not have the same value! How many times have you addressed this with math classes? A lesson gives an explanation of a square root and gives examples for simplifying square root...

Use this group test-writing and review strategy for any subject. It has groups writing 15-question tests at the end of a unit on WWI. Each group generates test questions using knowledge and materials from the unit. They also create a...

Creating a Bill of Rights isn't easy! Help your scholars experience what the Founding Fathers did by challenging them to write a Bill of Rights. Groups pretend they are a new democratic country and proceed to create that country's Bill...

After your math classes have been introduced to fractions (especially those with denominators of two, four, and eight), introduce them to fractions on a number line with this lesson plan. Using a meter length of tape, show your class...

Feeling ambitious about getting your scholars examining the election process? While this presidential election simulation will take preparation, the ensuing enthusiasm will be worth it! Using one or more large classes, 12th graders are...

Explore the concept of tornadoes with your class. They will research what to do during tornadoes and how to measure tornadoes. Multiple resources are included.

Students view a video clip of the experiences of Japanese-Americans during World War II. They read parts of a book in which a child tells her story about living in the internment camps. They participate in a simulation activity as well.

A class discussion on reference materials opens up a lesson on how to use these important resources. They discover that dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses are called word reference resources, and they practice using them. The...

How can you get your class to remember how to use the subjunctive tense in French? Create mobiles and booklets! Pupils work in groups to make mobiles that depict the correct usage of the subjunctive, and for each time they use one of the...

The Soviet Union's decision to block West Berlin from access by the Western allies began an international hostility that extended into the rest of the twentieth century. Class members examine both Harry Truman's and Joseph Stalin's...

Students write about and discuss Presidential duties. They study the two competing foreign policy camps in the Bush administration by reading and discussing the article "Bush Team's Counsel Is Divided on Foreign Policy." In groups,...

Chances are, you've got some precocious Matilda fans in your class! Use a thorough set of lesson plans to address Roald Dahl's classic novel about a bright girl who just wants to be understood. Vocabulary exercises,...

Turn your classroom into a farmers' market! Reading Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson or Monica Wellington’s Apple Farmer Annie, launches this investigation of apples, farmers' markets, and the people selling products. The class...

Use this math lesson to help your fourth graders further their understanding of ordering fractions. After completing some whole-group activities together as a class, pairs of students play an online game which has them compare fractional...