What is the initiating event? What is the protagonist's goal? What attempts are made to achieve this goal? What is the outcome? Model for your class how to map out the structure of any narrative. Readers then search for answers as the...

As part of their study of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie, class groups examine passages from the story and respond to a series of QAR questions.

Chief Seatle's "Letter to President Pierce, 1855" provides the text for a skills exercise that asks readers to consider how writers use metaphors to contribute to the meaning and impact of a work. Participants then apply what they have...

Expand on eager bookworms' independent reading by engaging them to define various genres of literature. Readers collaborate and use technology to find what goes into their assigned or previously read genres. Time is given for independent...

What would happen if I structured this review by beginning in the middle of it? Or by flashing back to the dinner I had last night that gave me bad heartburn, and then transitioned into how the lingering burn of acid seeped into my...

Would a baggie filled with water have the same shape sitting on a table as it would in a bucket of water? Why not? Allow learners to find out first-hand the effects of gravity acting alone on the baggie, as well as when gravity is...

An important part of balancing caloric intake to energy expenditure is knowing how many Calories you are consuming. In the fifth of a seven-lesson plan series on food and energy, learners estimate their daily caloric intake, then use a...

Using a character map, learners assign traits to characters from Nicholasa Mohr’s El Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories. In addition, groups record evidence from the stories to justify the labels and use these sheets to prepare for...

Introduce "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namioka to your middle schoolers with a reader's resource page. It includes links to different activities, including a creative writing prompt about losing fifty years of your life, and a...

Introduce learners to allegorical art with four bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos. After modeling how to recognize bias and allegory in Bertos' Africa, class groups examine the other three sculptures in the series before creating...

Introduce the major themes in Markus Zusak's award-winning novel, The Book Thief, with an anticipation guide that asks readers to agree or disagree with a series of statements.    

It's 1943, and Jewish people in Denmark are in hiding from the Nazis. What protection can the United States offer them? By examining the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, scholars consider the protections afforded to those...

Just a heads up: this lesson is based on a book, Dinosaur Eggs Discovered! Unscrambling the Clues. If you do not have or do not want to purchase the book, you may still find the other activities and worksheets useful in your earth...

Readers of all ages correctly use appropriate verbs in their speech and writing. The focus of this lesson is on the proper use of helping verbs.

Foster a sense of community by having youngsters work together to create a list of classroom rules. They draw pictures of their hopes for first grade after reading a children's book as a group. They also discuss why it is important to...

Intended for learners struggling with or having issues using auxiliary verbs, this activity has them orally compose sentences using one of the provided helping verbs. They will attempt to find patterns in groups of verbs and make class...

Consider five Supreme Court cases and how their outcomes have directly affected the American population. Government learners research and compose a 1-2 page pager outlining the examples of our daily life that have specifically been...

Demonstrate the complexities of running a government with this group activity. Young politicians are arranged into small groups and become leaders of a hypothetical country (outline of country provided). Groups must outline 6 (listed)...

Personalize history through genealogy. Get your scholars examining their family's past by utilizing resources at your local genealogical society. Learners complete family pedigree charts and choose to do one of the following: research...

High schoolers determine the difference between wants and needs. They take a 10 question quiz which they must pass with 80% accuracy. They play teacher made game entitled Business Feud.

It's time to write! First, lead your emerging writers in a power writing activity. It takes six minutes and focuses on creative brainstorming. The class is given two words (duck and apple are suggested, but alter the words for different...

Students conduct an experiment, determine if a game is fair, and collect data. They interpret data, then display line graph. They conduct analysis of game for probability.

Students germinate pea seeds and plant the seeds. They experiment with different amounts of light and darkness on the plant growth.

Students observe a demonstration of how pressure and temperature affects cloud formation.