What would you do? To prepare readers for the death of Mr. Pignati, one of the characters in Paul Zindel's The Pigman, individuals complete a problematic situation worksheet and then compare their responses to others in their group.

Even someone with a dark side can make a good decision—and vice versa. Readers explore Cole's traits and decisions in Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear and analyze his sunside and...

To conclude a study of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging in a Socratic seminar discussion of Martinez's novel.

The biopoem is a great way for instructors to get to know class members, classmates to get to know each other, and readers to flesh out their understanding of a character. Why not create a biopoem for a character from Oedipus the...

Good books are accessible through a variety of literary lenses. To consider how the same story can be seen in different lights, groups develop a storyboard for a movie teaser that would focus on one of six concepts found in Suzanne...

Show learners how to apply rational equations to the real world. Learners solve problems such as those involving averages and dilution. They write equations to model the situation and then solve them to answer the question —...

Depending on your perspective, solitude can be lovely or very, very lonely. Kids take a look at the simple landscape illustrated in Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince, and write a short journal entry about their...

Statistics can be manipulated to say what you want them to say. Teach your classes to be wise consumers and sort through the bias in those reports. Young statisticians study different statistical reports and analyze them for...

Elvira Woodruff's The Orphan of Ellis Island: A Time Travel Adventure is the core text in a interdisciplinary unit study of immigration at the turn of the century.

Help learners identify habits that interfere with sleep and to understand the importance of adequate rest and its impact on not only physical health, but also emotional wellbeing.

Students explore the attributes of fables. In this literature lesson plan, students read several fables and identify the moral lesson plan, characterization, and figurative language in each. Students then retell their favorite fables in...

Students create a solution to a social justice problem within their community. In this urban planning lesson plan, students read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines. Students then complete a...

Students decide where to locate ice cream stands in a town so that no one has to travel too far to buy a treat. The problem-solving strategies for this problem give students a chance to decide what makes a solution satisfactory.

Students, after being introduced to Visual Thinking Strategies, create sunprints.

Second graders practice problem solving strategies. In this problem solving lesson, 2nd graders use strategies such as guess and check, acting out, drawing pictures and looking for patterns to solve problems. Students work in groups to...

Students make thematic connections and organize their ideas using a Venn Diagram. In this Venn Diagram instructional activity, students compare 3 different stories from a novel and fill in a Venn Diagram. Students then discuss their...

Students investigate and read about the life and contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. They listen to a biography and take notes, complete a pictorial story, and complete a writing assignment in response to questions about civil...

Students complete reading Because of Winn-Dixie individually or as a class. As students reunite Opal and Winn-Dixie in this timed reading comprehension maze game, they demonstrate their understanding of the novel's plot, theme, and...

Students investigate the concept of equal opportunity in school. In this equal opportunity lesson, students participate in a discussion about the fairness of certain situations in school. They listen to a story entitled, "Left Out",...

Young scholars pantomime the story of The Great Kapok Tree for younger students.  In this The Great Kapok Tree lesson plan, young scholars warm up with a game before volunteering for parts in the story. Students practice acting out...

Students read a narrative selection and select a literature circle role. In this reading comprehension lesson, students work in groups to identify vocabulary, make text connections, or other reading comprehension strategies. Students...

Students research the main points of the accusations against O.J. Simpson, the prosecution and defense strategies and the outcome of the infamous murder trial. They participate in a mock trial, view a film, read articles and consider how...

Young scholars view a wordless comic before using it as a story starter. They access a story that uses the same characters at a website in order to better understand the nature of the characters. They write a story inspired by the comic...

Students study the Fourteen Points. They examine motives behind Wilson's Fourteen Points and why most of them were rejected by France. They answers questions concerning primary resources (casualty list and before and after...