Hearken! and observe how well a literary analysis unit can help ninth graders read closely and connect text structure to a central idea. Focusing on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," learners take notes and track the development...

What happens when a tenuous grasp on sanity begins to slip? Compare Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and Emily Dickinson's "I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain" with a lesson plan focused on developing a common central idea. High...

Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a activity that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...

Readers of Pygmalion use Eliza Character Tracker Parts one and two to notice and wonder about character analysis. They read text excerpts and mark details that show how Eliza feels and why she acts in certain ways. To finish, they...

1964: A victory for the civil rights movement! Scholars read a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and discuss what affirmative actions means to them. The resource is a jigsaw activity, with each group focusing on one section of the...

The second lesson in "The Color of Law" shows how government policies supported economic inequality. Scholars read additional excerpts and respond to text-dependent questions from "The Color of Law" text, examine primary source documents...

Young political scientists investigate the Poor People's Campaign protest held in Washington, D.C., on June 18, 2022. They research how the event was reported in various news outlets and consider their stance on whether...

Do not let Julius Caesar be Greek to your pupils. Rather, make the play a dish fit for hungry minds. Encourage your class members to lend their ears to a series of rich discussion questions so that they can become masters of the play, as...

What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out instructional activity that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to...

It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...

The validity of data depends on the strength of the sample. A collection of instruction and activities focuses on sampling distributions and the analysis of that data. Scholars learn about distribution tests such and Central Limit...

Improve your young poets' descriptive writing with this lesson on personification. A SMART board and PowerPoint presentation guide your class through the process of identifying human qualities attributed to various non-human objects. A...

After examining a short article about light microscopes, readers record their responses to a series of comprehension questions based on the text.

Over the course of the lesson plan, your pupils read and analyze a translated eight-line poem from the Tang Dynasty written by Du Fu, a poet caught behind enemy lines during the An Lu-Shan rebellion (755-763). Literary/historical context...

How does gravity affect the life cycle of a butterfly? Learn first-hand what types of investigations astronauts perform in space by following along with one of NASA's experiments. Create butterfly habitats in the classroom with specific...

Your young historians will learn all about the pharaohs, pyramids, and gods of ancient Egypt with these informational text worksheets, each of which are accompanied by hands-on, follow-up activities.

An excerpt from Ronald Reagan's October 27, 1964 speech in support of presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, "A Time for Choosing," is the text for primary source analysis activity. After reading the document, learners respond...

To sign or not to sign? That is the question facing readers of the 1807 bill proposing an end to the slave trade. After a close reading of excerpts from the bill, readers are asked to advise Thomas Jefferson either to sign or reject the...

Prepare your pupils for Common Core testing with this practice test. The test includes one fictional text and four informational texts for learners to read and answer questions about. Also included are answer keys, an online version, and...

The point of view in a story can dramatically change the story itself. Focus on finding the points of view in various reading passages with a language arts packet, which includes fiction and nonfiction text.

Can three works of literature work together to establish and develop a common central idea? Put your thoughts into writing with a final assessment focused on a unit-long analysis of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His...

How can Microsoft Excel help manage data in people's personal and professional lives? Using the Beginning Excel eBook, scholars learn the basics of creating, editing, and using spreadsheets. They explore spreadsheet design, formulas,...

James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides eighth graders with an opportunity to sharpen their literary analysis skills. After a close reading of the text, class members highlight and annotate parts of the dialogue and...

Learners annotate text from The Great Gatsby before working through a character development map. They then use text evidence in a final essay to describe the connection between central ideas and character development.