How does perspective change a person's view? Scholars view different perspectives as they compare the styles of two different authors describing a flock of birds. Writers also create essays in response to entertainment ruining society...

Alternative energy sources are becoming increasingly important. Learners have the opportunity to explore alternative energy sources using a differentiated instruction unit. They group together based on ability levels, assign roles to...

Scholars use a Story Impressions Note-catcher to capture their first impressions of words or phrases from To Kill a Mockingbird. They then listen to a reading of the first six pages of the novel before the teacher asks questions to check...

Be a team player. Scholars gather in their expert groups and discuss group norms and roles. They look at their research topics and determine how they will divide the work among themselves. Groups look over their research folders and ask...

A lesson begins with learners saying three words they associate with Thanksgiving dinner. They examine a picture of a menu from a Thanksgiving meal and discuss what they believe the artist wants them to feel, pointing out details. Small...

The Crusades sounds like a glamorous time period in the Middle Ages full of glory—but was it? Scholars find and review the truth of the Crusades' influence on the world through the resource. The study guides, separated individually by...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...

An introductory lesson to a unit on water pollution, young environmentalists are asked to brainstorm examples of pollutants in water. This lesson will help develop a sense of what water pollution is and where the pollutants come from.

Six color posters are included, one for each step of the scientific method. Each step in the process is named, and three points to remember or questions to ask are also included to stimulate thinking.

Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...

The murder of Emmett Till is the focus of a guided inquiry that asks scholars to research the events, the trial, recent attempts to reopen the case and the effect of the murder on people today.

Here is a great tool to help train your learners what to do during a think pair share! The graphic organizer has a place for your learners to put the title, their partner's name, notes during their peer discussion, and a place to record...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...

Perfect for both classroom and homeschool settings, this 72-page resource packet, designed for C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, is a must-have for your curriculum library. Chapter-by-chapter vocabulary lists and...

Close reading doesn't mean to literally read text close to your face, but rather to pay attention to particular details in order to develop a deep and purposeful understanding of text. The first part of a five-part resource provides an...

To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.

Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...

The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

A simple question, with a not-so-simple answer. Working with whole and mixed number measurements in inches, feet, and yards presents a problem with many possible solutions. A great activity that challenges the minds of young...

Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...

To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...

Who knew that one poster about George Washington could have so many learning possibilities attached to it? Here you'll find an attractive learning display on the first president of the United States, as well as worksheets and...