Pirates ahoy! Readers go on an adventure using a novel study for Treasure Island as they research and write about a modern-day pirate story. Additionally, scholars practice writing similes and alliteration before answering comprehension...

Read about the tumultuous beginning to the United States with an informational text passage about Colonial America. As young researchers peruse an article about the arrival of the Mayflower, the settlers' relationship to the neighboring...

Fourth graders work independently or in a small group to (1) read a poem, (2) identify unfamiliar words, (3) connect text to real-life situations, and (4) respond to poetry. Reading passage, comprehension questions, and teacher script...

Many educators focus on the civil rights movement as it occurred after Rosa Parks incited the bus boycott. Extend the understanding of the fight for civil rights in the United States with this post-WWII lesson. Learners examine and...

Students explore different strategies for reading with a purpose utilizing information before, during and after reading selections. They find out about a topic of interest and then find a text that contains that interest and analyze that...

Investigate the Law of Conservation of Mass through a lab exploration. Individuals combine materials to initiate chemical reactions. They monitor for signs of reactions and measure the masses before and after the reactions for...

It's no masquerade! If Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera is part of your curriculum, check out this three-page packet loaded with suggestions for before, during, and after reading activities.

Sometimes it's hard to relate to a new text. Teach kids to use their prior knowledge when reading something new with a comprehension exercise. A short passage tells them how to think of their brains like filing systems, and provides five...

Those in positions of authority don't always have the best interest of their people in mind. As part of a sample assessment question, readers must consider how works of literature they read apply to a quote from Edmund Burke—"The greater...

Take a moment in your language or social studies class to review key terms and details from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. A quick crossword puzzle allows learners to check understanding before a larger unit, test, or...

A study of Jan Felipe Herrera's poem "Every Day We Get More Illegal" opens the door for a discussion on immigration. To begin, class members examine the photograph "Desert Survival," record their observations of the image, and then...

Minnie Bruce Pratt's poem, "The Great Migration," offers young scholars an opportunity to reflect on how where we come from influences who we are. Groups conduct a close reading of the poem, recording observations about the poem's...

Learners read novel Rosa's Miracle Mouse, research assigned years in small groups, and create timelines and Powerpoint presentations detailing interaction between Germany and the United States before, during, and after World War II.

How many constitutional clauses does it take to create a bill? High schoolers find out with several activities and  selected clauses about the rule of law and the US Constitution. Various coinciding activities help to strengthen...

Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...

How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...

Marilyn Nelson's poem, "1905," asks young scholars to compare and contrast George Washington Carver and Albert Einstein. After studying images of the two scientists and listing their observations, class members listen to several readings...

Students write a scene.  In this creative writing lesson, students read The Lightning Thief and discuss the sentence fluency and word choice in the writing.  Students complete a writing assignment where they create an...

Challenge your third and fourth graders to look deeply into a text with a reading comprehension activity. After learners finish the short passage, they answer four questions that range in levels of difficulty and analysis.

The debate over the Equal Rights Amendment continues. To better understand the controversy, class members research the history of attempts to get the amendment ratified. In addition, pairs engage in a structured academic conversation...

Considering using Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies? Here's a resource designed to be used before and during a reading of her powerful story of the murder of the Mirabal sisters. Included in the packet is a vocabulary...

Does the fastest one always win the race? Look deeper into The Tortoise and the Hare with a set of discussion questions for before, during, and after reading the story.

Patriots versus Loyalists, a huge divide during the Revolutionary War in what would become the United States of America. An informative resource includes both direct instruction about the two groups and a quiz pupils take after reading...