Would you, could you? Scholars read World without Fish and focus carefully on the use of the words could and would. They chunk the text into smaller sections and write annotations on sticky notes to help with comprehension. To...

Half way there. Scholars work on the mid unit assessment for World without Fish. Learners work independently to complete the assessment. They then answer text-dependent questions and use sticky notes for annotating.

It's the halfway point—there's no turning back now. Scholars work on the mid unit assessment for Flush. For the assessment, learners analyze the point of view and plot development by annotating the text using sticky notes and underlining...

How do cultural and historical background impact thought? To explore this essential question, class members view of portion of the film, The Passage to India, read an excerpt from The Magician’s Nephew, and Nissim Ezekiel’s...

Class groups assume the identity of one of the primary human characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They create a body biography that identifies the most important traits of their character, translate these traits into...

Readers explore East Asian culture and literature with a book folder project. Before beginning the project, learners record three beliefs they have about East Asian culture. They then select two books to read and create a display for the...

Have young writers compose stories that add detail to the moments captured in personal photographs and create an annotated photo album. Rather than sending every member of the class home for the weekend with a digital camera, you might...

Three annotated passages from Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on "Nature" provide young philosophers a chance to improve their reading comprehension skills as they gain insight into Emerson's ideas.

Build upon linear functions to learn about quadratics. The instructional activity introduces the concept of zeros for quadratic functions and makes the connection to the linear factors of the function. It presents quadratics in both...

Even the most inspiring documents in American history had to go through a few drafts before they were ready for publication. Reinforce the importance of the writing process, as well as the collaborative nature of democracy, with an...

Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to hone their close reading and literary analysis skills. After annotating their copy of the story, writer's craft an essay in which they analyze...

Make the connections between area, tiling, and multiplication. A performance task and associated unit presents the concept of area and makes the connection to multiplication. Pupils work through three major sections of instruction that...

Learn how to correctly analyze and score a written performance task. Example work shows annotated think alouds for grading. Teachers also have access to graphic organizers for helping writers succeed,

Scholars read Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal before writing essays to analyze the use of rhetorical devices in the text. Essay writing begins by underlining key words in the writing prompt and discussing the prompt with...

It was not just the states of the Deep South that practiced segregation. Young historians investigate the history of segregation and desegregation in Oklahoma. They begin by reading, annotating, and analyzing an article about the impacts...

Ada Limon's poem, "A New National Anthem," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on the significance of the US national anthem and the extent to which Key's vision applies to all Americans. After watching a video of Whitney...

Love, jealousy, hatred! Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera has it all. Whether or not you have used Gaston Leroux's novel with your classes, you will find much value in this resource. The guide includes background information, an...

A paragraph from John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley provides English language learners with an opportunity to practice strategies for answering guiding questions about the academic text. Class members locate keywords in the annotated...

Fish, fowl, foul fish, or foul fowl? Just what is a siren? Young scholars listen to a video clip and draw what they imagine when they hear the word "siren." After watching several videos depicting sirens, class members read "The Sirens'...

Diagrams with annotations are shown on each of these eighteen slides, which summarize the processes of respiration. The focus is on the 3-step oxidation process and the Krebs cycle.  Students should be able to follow these slides...

Students compare and discuss short-term and longer-term global temperature data. They evaluate data from three sets of graphs and then participate in a structured whole class Socratic discussion on the possible causes of climate change.

Students identify and define the main components of the hydrosphere and the ways in which they interact with one another. They explore how changes in Earth's surface materials affect components of the hydrosphere and evaluate the effect...

Annotated diagrams explain the distribution of charged particles in clouds that can lead to lightening bolts. This is a super short slide show but it is useful for explaining the phenomenon and safety mechanisms.

When breaking down the details of the periodic table of elements, this presentation will explain special characteristics for each of the noble gases. The annotations are quite elementary, so this can easily be used in an introductory...