Prepare for a mid-unit assessment based on Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club with a brainstorming and discussion lesson plan. Focused on two chapters from the novel ("Rules of the Game" and "Two Kinds"), the lesson plan guides tenth graders...

Football fans and ready readers will enjoy a lesson based on H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights. Focusing on chapter 4, the lesson encourages tenth graders to examine Mike's character development as it relates to the season opener and...

Have you ever wanted to learn more about a subject after you finished a great book? Guide ninth graders through an inquiry-based research project as they finish the first chapter of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation. Having...

Sometimes, the movie version of a book can provide additional details about the source material, particularly when the film is thoughtfully directed and well-acted. Ninth graders watch a two-minute clip from the movie Temple Grandin and...

Can dogs feel shame? Explore the anthropomorphic connection between human emotions and animal behavior—or lack thereof—with a instructional activity about Temple Grandin's book, Animals in Translation. Ninth graders continue a close...

Ninth graders study the study of animals in an informational text lesson plan that focuses on analyzing text structure. As learners continue reading the first chapter of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, they form inquiries and...

To what extent can the surrounding environment influence one's behavior? Temple Grandin explores her connection to animals and her unique ability to understand their behavior with a lesson plan focusing on her book, Animals in...

Autism isn't an illness or a disability. In the first chapter of Animals in Translation, we learn about Temple Grandin's unique ability to understand animals through her experience with autism. Having read pages four through eight for...

I have an idea! Scholars examine closely how Du Bois develops a central idea in paragraph four of the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." They also begin finding significant and relevant evidence to support a topic and complete...

Bestow background in big business bailouts on your scholars with this political cartoon analysis handout. Two cartoons focus on the General Motors bankruptcy, and its effect on American taxpayers. Background information gives context for...

Use the power of primary sources to help young historians understand the conditions Africans endured while being shipped during the slave trade. After reading an excerpt from Eyewitness Accounts of Slavery in the Danish West Indies,...

How does a society influence and shape individuals? Class members ponder this essential question as they read Lord of the Flies, as well as primary source materials about the historical background of the novel. As a...

For this matrix worksheet, students organize given data into matrices and answer questions from given matrices.  Explanations, definitions, and examples are provided.

Students work in groups as they read chapters of Charles Darwin's, Voyage of the Beagle. They take notes on the chapter and in their group make a timeline of the chapter. They tape the timelines together in order to depict the entire...

Considering Christopher Crowe's Mississippi Trial, 1955 with reading groups or as a whole-class text? Check out the background information and instructional ideas in this seven-page resource packet.

Considering using James McBride's autobiography/memoir The Color of Water with your class? Check out this seven-page informational packet that includes background information on McBride, the organization pattern of the book, and...

Before you begin reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, read over this comprehensive handout that gives you a plethora of information regarding the story's summary, organizational structure, central...

Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...

Take an in-depth look into Gary Paulsen's Hatchet with a concept guide. With a list and explanation of thematic motifs, types of conflicts, and vocabulary in the novel, learners will engage with the text in a whole new way.

Designed as an overview for instructors using The Last Lecture for the first time, this packet provides an overview of Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow's book.

Complete with a navigation tool and list of key terms, the slides in this presentation are bursting with pertinent information for your young economists. From studying public goods to graphs that detail the collective willingness to pay,...

Is economic growth necessary to remain a relevant world power? These slides discuss the definition and implications of growth economics, complete with global comparisons and ways to account for growth. Graphs and charts are easy to read...

Considering using Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a whole class reading or for book circles? Check out this overview that provides a plot summary, a list of enduring questions raise by and themes addressed by the...

New to using Tuesdays with Morrie? Check out this five-page resource that provides an overview Mitch Albom's book, its features, themes, and literary devices. The packet also includes suggestions for research projects.