For those class members who have mastered the basic concepts and need extra challenges, here's a packet of activities sure to engage them in stories about American immigration and exploration. Kids may design a dramatic...

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.

I love big mural projects. They bring a sense of ownership to the classroom, look great for parents, and can be a great way to complete a unit. Here are the steps and suggestions needed to create an ocean mural for your class. Learners...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Learners read and explore one of Emily Dickinson's nature poems, "A Bird Came Down the Walk-" through interaction with a variety of art forms. Clips of a hymn to hear meter and the viewing of bird images exposes them to the language and...

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

Students describe and contrast life as it was in colonial days. They plan, compose, and produce a student movie. They reflect on what they have learned. They share their experience with others in digital format.

Students explore characterization in Little Women. In this literature lesson, students participate in written analysis and research in order to explore Alcott's characterization in the novel.

In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions based on The Way of the World. Students may submit their answers to be scored.

Is global warming all smoke and mirrors? Find out what your scholars think with this handout, which has them analyzing two political cartoons on the topic. Background information gives context, detailing the computer hacking during the...

Your kids probably use mirrors every day, but do they know how they work? A reading passage about reflection and reflective objects can address both physical science and reading comprehension. Kids read the paragraphs and use context...

Shakespeare was such a talented writer, but why? It must be his use of figurative language, blended with his clever, twisting plots. This worksheet focuses on his use of metaphor, simile, personification, oxymoron, and hyperbole within...

After reading the essay "Killing Chickens" by Meredith Hall, provide your class with these thoughtful questions. After answering the four questions listed, your writers attempt to write their own descriptive essay. Challenge them to...

Learning stations aren't just for little ones; middle schoolers can have fun while learning about the main character in the book, The Kid in the Red Jacket. Outlined are three different activities that are completed as each small...

Is this any way to treat a Greek Myth? By all means, turn the tale of Orpheus into a reader's theatre exercise.

Making predictions is an excellent reading strategy. Work on building this into your pupils' toolkit of strategies by trying out the process outlined here for reading the very beginning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The...

Looking to set up literature circles in your class? Use these materials to support pupils when they meet in groups. Pupils take on various roles over the course of reading and meet with their groups to share the work they have done on...

A good prompt is hard to find, especially ones that encourage application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of a text. Help is here in the form of a prompt list for George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four that offers essay topics that...

What teenager can't relate to the drama of a love triangle? Scholars put their literary skills to use in a gripping role-play drama. William Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona unfolds as the classroom becomes a stage of...

Writers compose an original found poem by searching for words that inspire them. Words are taken from everyday conversation, books, cut from magazines, the mail, or an already written poem. 

Did you know that mastaba means bench in Arabic? Learn why a mastaba was so important to ancient Egyptian architecture. Middle and high schoolers alike stay entertained while reading a passage that describes the virtual tour of...

Can organic molecules come from a pre-biotic environment? Stanley Lloyd Miller proved it is possible when exactly the right conditions exist. Learn about his experiment and the other experiments later building off of it that changed the...