Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is used to model for readers how to craft four levels of questions that promote comprehension. Questions that can be answered with evidence right there in the text, questions that require readers to think and...

After responding to a series of prompts on an anticipation guide, readers of Unwind craft five predictions about what will happen in Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel.    

Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their...

This packet, the second in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on amazing animals, contains exercises and activities designed for the ESL/ELD classroom.

What better way to get to know a character than through a biopoem? Learners choose a character from Chaim Potok's The Chosen and create a well-crafted poem about his or her desires, traits, and ambitions.

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

Young artists don't need to be skateboarders to enjoy this assignment. Class members use the provided worksheet to craft 10 sketches that convey action or motion using no more than seven lines. They then select their three best ideas and...

Keep this resource handy for all your learning center and station needs! Whether you have just a few or 20 stations, these printables will clearly indicate each stop along the activity and help keep your learners on track.

Students analyze Earth science by answering environmental study questions. In this Earth Day lesson, students read the book The Lorax and identify the themes within it. Students define several recycling vocabulary terms and create an...

Students investigate the predator and prey relationship. This is done using a simple simulation. The simulation is done as an arts and craft activity. Students record data and track it using a graphic organizer and then they discuss the...

Students build and compare models of both an energy inefficient and efficient classroom. In this energy efficiency lesson, students creatively use recycled materials to build two separate classroom models. They factor in concepts such as...

Use a packet packed with ideas for how to celebrate the traditions of your country, state, community, and pupils's families. Suggestions for how to draw on oral and material traditions, customs, beliefs, music, and stories all find...

Only one thing can compare to the whimsy of Dr. Seuss: a child's imagination. Pair the bouncing narrative of a Dr. Seuss book with your learner's illustrations in a fun reading activity. As you read a selected passage, your class draws...

The problem with beards is that they collect a lot of food. The first lesson in an 11-part unit related to The Twits by Roald Dahl explores the hairy jungle that is Mr. Twit's beard. A concluding project has learners create their own...

What happens to a sentence when you replace a word with its antonym? A two-part instructional activity asks learners to select words opposite in meaning to provided words, and then to craft sentences using antonyms for given words.

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

Young poets research an animal and use the information they gather to craft and illustrate a cinquain.

A reading of Kevin Lamb's short story "Lost in the Woods" launches a study of how writers use elements such as foreshadowing, mood, character development, setting, and conflict to engage readers. Class members then demonstrate what they...

Art and architecture go hand-in-hand. Kids watch clips from the Hayo Miyazaki film Spirited Away to better understand Japanese customs and architecture. The discussion questions included are very good, and will help you lead the class in...

Asking kids to craft their own stories? Get them starting with a character planning sheet that asks them to identify the character's likes and dislikes, his or her strengths and fears, a goal the character wants to achieve, and...

Designers communicate their vision for a set through a progression from thumbnail sketches, to drawings, to renderings. After examining a series of renderings, class members begin work on their own rendering paying particular attention...

Discussion questions for Walt Whitman's "Son of Myself" ask class members to reflect on the beauty that can be found in labor, the sense of identity that transcends divisions, and on the many riddles in Whitman's poem. ...

Some assignments are great, some can become great, and some have greatness thrust upon them. This one is great. After completing Joseph Heller's classic satire, Catch-22, groups craft and present their own political satire.

“What do you think life is like at the South Pole?” After responding to this journal prompt, class members read and discuss the New York Times article, “At South Pole, New Home for a New Era.” Using resources available from the Times’...