To conclude a study of the French Revolution, young historians adopt the voice of critics of Napoleon Bonaparte and lay charges against him. They then craft a memoir in Napoleon's voice that details his motives and what he sees as his...

Order up a unit on rational numbers. A unit overview gives a basic outline of instruction and activities on rational numbers for the 7.NS domain. A performance task on profits at pizzerias assesses understanding of the concepts in the...

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...

To drill or not to drill? An informative unit has scholars first research the advantages and disadvantages of oil drilling in Alaska. They set up and conduct a sample survey to assess attitudes toward oil drilling in a specific...

Who can afford the computer required to land a summer job? Pupils work in pairs to solve problems related to finding the number of hours needed to work to purchase a given item. Individuals then work on a performance-based assessment to...

Sharpen persuasive writing skills while trying to solve a community problem. Learners choose a burning topic and then write letters to persuade others to come around to their views. The provided procedures walk through how to guide the...

Some enslaved people decided to run for their liberation. Using lyrics of songs they sang, young historians look at these anthems of freedom. An assessment asks them to write the story of escape from the perspective of an enslaved...

An 11-page packet includes three activities to engage pupils in reading Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth. To understand the historical context, class members research a list of topics related to Chinese history and culture. They then...

Packed with activities, projects, and assessments, first-time instructors and seasoned veterans will find much to like in this overview of a nine-part unit based on William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies.

Climb the career ladder! Using a guiding resource, pupils develop an individual career plan including goals, a resume, and self-assessments. Additionally, scholars write a cover letter to a company of choice.

As a mid-unit assessment, individuals craft an in-class, formal essay response to a prompt that asks them to use textual evidence to identify Haley's purpose, as well as analyze how the structure, style, and content contribute to the...

As an end-of-unit assessment, class members craft a formal, multi-paragraph essay identifying a similar idea found in Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. Writers state and use...

Whether the planks hide the beating of a hideous heart or they break away to the madness beneath, their presence makes itself known in the final instructional activity of a literary analysis unit. Having gathered textual evidence from...

Scholars review the previous nine lessons of analysis of King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and use their work to create a formal essay responding to a writing prompt about the purpose of the work. This mid-unit assessment is a quick...

How do learners use textual evidence from a close reading to write a well-developed essay? Scholars try it by completing a mid-unit assessment based on their analysis of the first 15 paragraphs from "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia...

Scholars take a close look at evaluating sources and the information that comes from them. Learners review their research plans, use a handout organizer to learn how to take notes, and begin annotating correctly. They practice what they...

It's time to show what you know. Scholars finalize their argumentative essays by making last-minute revisions to conventions, tone, and formal style. Learners review the checklist to ensure they have met all the task requirements. They...

Scholars enter the midpoint of the unit and connect all the previous 16 lessons about the text "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." They complete a Mid-Unit Assessment that requires a multi-paragraph response to a writing prompt.

It's time for the grand finale! Scholars complete the final draft of their newspaper articles for the End of Unit 3 Assessment. They share their article with a classmate for peer critique. After considering all feedback and including a...

First graders through a variety of strategies assess how to write in journals openly and effectively. Those strategies include integration of technology, story telling, group and team work, performance-based assessment/rubrics, visual...

In this Navajo pottery worksheet, young scholars conduct an experiment using various samples of earthen material. Students are required to collect at least three samples of dirt. Young scholars can make observations about the texture of...

Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...

A key goal of social-emotional learning is to help young people develop healthy attitudes towards themselves and others. A 173-page curriculum guide provides  step-by-step lessons that are richly detailed, carefully scaffolded, and...

After your class has completed The Cay by Theodore Taylor, assess understanding of the plot. First, model how to fill out a plot line for your class. Next, have class members fill in the plot of The Cay on the provided story map. Invite...