Who helps our community run smoothly? Read a short passage about community members and helpers. After kids finish the passage, they answer five short questions on the other side of the page.

Help your learners work their way through a reading assignment for informational text. Using context clues, they answer five comprehension question based on a short passage about the three levels of government: local government, state...

What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.

The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...

Distinguish between primary and secondary source documents using the theme of philanthropy. Middle schoolers discuss Anne Frank: The Diary of Young Girl as a way to study the past using a primary source. Then they investigate how to...

Students study about the most widely reported stock market indicator by the news media, the Dow or DJIA, short for Dow Jones Industrial Average. They complete a table that divides these 30 companies into different industry groups.

Practice expository and creative writing with your class. Pupils use magazines to find pictures, cut them out, and create a collage. This work of art is then used as a writing prompt. They describe the collage in either a creative or...

Encourage reading for information with a text about United States geography. Kids read a short passage about the landforms in the United States, including mountain ranges and natural resources, and answer five reading comprehension...

Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...

Language learners use the debate format to practice formulating, expressing, and defending their ideas. Working in teams, class members develop resolutions, use opinion indicators to express their opinions and reasons, and prepare...

A 12-page teacher's guide to Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees provides the discussion questions and activities that lead readers to understand not only Lily's fears, but her reasons behind them.

Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

The tale of "Lon Po Po" is a Chinese story, very similar to the European tale of "Little Red Riding Hood." Learners make cross cultural comparisons between the two tales, focusing on themes common to both. They review story elements such...

Use some provocative modern art to get your class considering stereotypes and the impact they have on us all. Your class will discuss the print art Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie and stereotypes in general before...

Students read an informational text passage on Thurgood Marshall and his contribution to African Americans' rights, and then answer questions based on what they read.

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Booker T. Washington was often criticized by W.E.B. Dubois and other African American leaders for his conciliatory approach to civil rights and education voiced in his autobiography Up From Slavery.  This teacher's guide not only...

Use primary text documents to learn word roots. Learners listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence and highlight words they don't know. They compile these words and guess their meanings. They discuss roots, prefixes,...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This lesson plan includes several culminating project...

Your 9th - 12th graders can hone their analysis and critical thinking skills by studying the way a subject is portrayed across media types. They examine how various print, visual, and online sources have portrayed key players in the 9/11...

Women's voices are becoming more prominent in the world of literature, but for centuries, this wasn't the case. Young historians research a woman whose writings are considered to be lost, out of print, or forgotten. They develop an oral...

Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...

To enrich their study of wild animals, fifth graders create a wildlife photography exhibit, create a book about animals that live in national parks, and plan a wild animal park for the animals living in their area.