How does one talk silently? Class members participate in a silent communication activity known as a Chalk Talk. During the activity, they answer text-dependent questions analyzing Carlotta’s Journey. They use markers and chart paper to...

Just because it's summertime, doesn't mean that learning has to stop. Support children with continuing to develop their reading fluency with this extensive collection of literacy activities.

Track the progress of your fourth graders' reading and writing skills with this practice Common Core assessment. Based on a collection of six reading passages that include narrative stories, poetry, and a series of...

Eighth graders explore the characteristics of responsibility. In this character instructional activity, 8th graders complete a self-evaluation. Students view a responsibility video. Students write a newspaper article on selected...

Analyze a fictional text with a four-page packet that explores a story's main character and moral, challenges scholars to ask and answer questions about the text, and to create a story map. 

What do your words say about you? Scholars look closely at the Duke's words about the Duchess in Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess. Readers talk in groups to determine how the words help them learn more about the Duke. Learners also...

Scholars consider how dialogue reveals aspects of a play's characters as they read Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and complete a written conversation note-catcher. Additionally, pupils participate in an I Have/Who Has jigsaw...

It's time to get active! Scholars participate in a World Café protocol to promote discussion and leadership. They leave their seats and move from group to group to discuss critical questions related to their read-aloud of Shakespeare's A...

Scholars read President Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech and analyze the speech's words using close reading guides. Readers determine Roosevelt's point of view after reading the speech and filling in the guides.

Scholars participate in a gallery walk to examine photographs related to WWII and record thoughts about the pictures in note catchers. At the end of the gallery walk, pupils share their observations before participating in a discussion...

Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...

Writers consider what makes a story powerful as they listen to a short story about Frederick Douglass. Once finished, small groups complete a worksheet to analyze what makes the story so enduring.

Coldhearted snob or warm and caring? A series of activities prepares scholars to evaluate the main character in Jane Austen's Emma. To begin, class members compare the gender expectations for women in Regency England and those of today....

What's one way to make a good essay great? Revise! Scholars revise their drafts from a previous lesson plan to help write their final polished analytical essays about the universal refugee experience. They also practice properly citing...

Readers analyze how characters are juxtaposed in Linda Sue Park's novel A Long Walk to Water and discuss their ideas with the class. Then, with a partner, they complete a juxtaposition practice worksheet.

Get the most out of your guided reading lessons with this collection of literacy materials. Offering a system for using color-coded tags to mark pages while reading books, as well as an assortment of comprehension and grammar...

Accompany a novel study of Hatchet by Gary Paulson with a unit consisting of 16 lessons focused on physical and emotional survival. Reading the story along with a variety of informational texts, scholars compare and contrast reading...

As the instructor reads aloud several quotes from five chapters of the story Matilda, class members mime their interpretation of the scenes. Then, after reading "Miss Honey" and "The Trenchbull" (chapters seven and eight), the...

A house with no windows and a garden full of stinging nettles make the perfect home for Mr. and Mrs. Twit. The seventh lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl takes a closer look at the Twits' home...

Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a play about star-crossed lovers, resonates deeply with teenagers. The study packet contains study questions for each act of the play. Learners use a graphic organizer to analyze whether characters...

Are some characteristics more desired than others?Scholars examine attributes of characters in books, models in catalogs, and articles in magazines. Discussion leads to identifying characteristics they see more often as well as...

Sir Peter Blake was an award-winning New Zealand yachtsman who was killed by pirates in 2001. Scholars learn about his leadership qualities in a fun lesson that combines games, writing, and discussion. Pupils also reflect on ideas of...

Readers of Lord of the Flies examine the four main symbols William Golding develops in his novel: the island, the conch, the Lord of the Flies effigy, and fire. Partners select one of the major symbols and create an image by adding words...