Help your middle and high schoolers reflect on the responsibility of newspapers to act as a vehicle for 'everyday citizens' to voice their opinions. Then, using an article about the first day of the Senate impeachment trial of President...

Create a glossary of tax-related vocabulary and clip New York Times articles that present tax procedure in action, in preparation for participating in a tax quiz bowl. Young economists explore allegations that "Survivor" Richard Hatch...

Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be lessoned by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “My...

What would your class members say to the opportunity to take two years off of school between grades 10 and 11? Examine the economic concepts of costs, benefits, and unintended consequences with this unique and engaging approach.

Students brainstorm author's purpose, and use their imagination to draw pictures that illustrate what the purpose is. In this literature and writing lesson, student's use Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a guide from which to work.

Fourth graders read and respond to poetry. They identify the author's purpose and connect the literature to their personal experiences. Students critically analyze the poem and write a poem of their own.

High schoolers review the task sheet and information on SQ3R reading strategy. They choose a text for reading then apply SQ3R to the text to preview and ask questions about the content, organizational structure and author's prupose for...

Students are able to identify, create, and evaluate three kinds of sentences: simple, compound, and complex. They are able identify the purpose of various sentence types: declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory, and...

Young scholars consider the purpose of a constitution and research Iraq's five major population groups. They write a letter to the Iraqi Governing Council from the perspective of a member of one of these Iraqi population groups.

Students discuss the purpose of the President of the United States giving an inaugural address. They describe their impressions of any inaugural speaches they have heard or read. Students research events leading up to Washington's first...

Students define "status symbol" and identify such items. They discuss the purpose of beta testing new technologies. They examine new ways that current technology is tested and publicized. They work in groups to develop proposals for...

High schoolers write an essay describing the Curtis Center and what they learned there. In this descriptive writing essay, students discuss the five paragraph essay and review sensory discoveries from their trip. High schoolers draft an...

Elementary schoolers develop an awareness of the literary form known as the fable. They explore how authors write fables to pass along moral lessons. After reading and discussing many famous fables embedded in the plan, learners attempt...

Third graders engage in a lesson plan which addresses their curiosity about some of the outstanding people-made landmarks of the world. They explore the geographical themes of location and place through literature.

Is falling in love easy or hard? Challenge your class to consider seven statements about love and relationships before reading Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Then, as you work your way through the play, revisit the sheet to record...

Help develop assertive, critical-thinking skills that enhance growth and change while teaching economics. In groups, select a topic from a list and then discuss the pros and cons of each topic. Debate why advertising is necessary to our...

Students practice critical thinking skills by defending their beliefs orally in a "hot seat". In addition, they communicate their feelings about an inssue in writing.

After listening to a story about Martin Luther King Jr., first graders answer questions about the text. They discuss the importance of the illustrations, identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and complete a writing...

The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...

Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...

Students study the conditions of salmon imprinting as the fish returns to spawn in its native waters. Scented cards are used to mimic the imprinting process as the student fishes search for and identify obstacles to reaching their native...

What are hyperboles? Examine the attributes of hyperboles with your high school classes. Pupils read selected poems and prose selections that feature hyperboles and discuss their functions in each work of literature. Specific poems and...

Readers of Dandelion Wine work in groups to develop questions on four levels (right there, think and search, the author and you, and on my own) about Chapter 34 of Ray Bradbury's reflection on the joys of summer. Groups jigsaw and...

How does word choice affect the reading of a text? Compare two headlines that were written about the same event. Is one biased? Discuss how word choice often reveals the author's feelings about a topic. Then look at different techniques...