As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...

Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...

Here is a 20-box bingo card to use when exploring ways that humans impact the environment. Various environmentally aware activities are listed in the boxes, and learners circulate the room to find someone who practices the different...

Fair or unfair? To begin a study of the American Revolution, class members review the treatment of the people of the American Colonies by the King of England and decide which were fair and which were unfair. Class members then annotate a...

Explore the vocabulary of the government process. Using a simple technique, learners discuss the meaning of the words majority, election, democrat, republican, and independent. This can be used as an anticipatory set.

What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...

Student explain how geographic and cultural settings influence a person's identity. They compare and contrasting Esmeralda Santiago's Puerto Rican self with her American self by participating in a close reading of the text and writing a...

"The Crisis, No. 1" is the focus of a series of exercises that ask learners to read closely and annotate Thomas Paine's text. Groups identify claims and evidence in the essay and present their arguments to the class. Teacher background...

Rather than who done it, the mystery literary detectives have to solve as they examine the evidence found in Edgar Allan Poe's famous "The Tell-Tale Heart" is why did he do it?

Students explore human anatomy by participating in hands-on activities. In this digestive system instructional activity, students read the book It All Began With a Bean and discuss the process of food digestion in our body. Students...

A teacher's guide for Kindred provides instructors with a wealth of materials to enrich either a full-class reading or independent study of Octavia E. Butler's popular science fiction novel. The activities are designed to...

After reading and analyzing two narrative memoirs, middle schoolers engage in a variety of activities, including writing an essay, developing a story map, and creating character charts. They then compare and contrast story maps, and...

"Much has been given us, and much will rightfully be expected from us." As part of a series of worksheets that provide readers with an opportunity to develop their primary source comprehension skills, kids examine an excerpt from...

Students investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.

What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....

Gear up for Halloween by studying the horror genre with your class and analyzing films and texts to uncover the genre's traditional conventions.

As Theodore Roosevelt reminded Congress in 1908, corporation one is not corporation two. Readers of this excerpt from Roosevelt's Message to Congress have an opportunity to sharpen their comprehension skills as they study this primary...

Discover the cultural practices and unique value systems of a group of native peoples from Canada called the Kwakwaka'wakw. Your young historians will discuss how conceptions of wealth can vary and how these native...

Young readers make sense out of the wealth of information in newspapers with this helpful reference document. Pointing out basic features like headings, articles, bylines, and captions this resource is a...

Even supposed Utopian societies have their flaws. Using an educator's guide, individuals explore the society Ally Condie creates in Matched. Reflective writing prompts double as discussion questions and cover key themes in the novel, as...

Using paper and a pencil, produce a pop-up puppet of a groundhog that peers out and over it's burrow to tell us when Spring is coming. 

Parallel circuits often provide less of a challenge for teens than parallel parking. An installment of a series on parallel electric circuits requires learners to solve increasingly difficult  levels of calculations. Each level...

Eleventh graders read poetry for homework and discuss it during class. They participate in poetry readings and decide who the speakers are in the poems.

Students explore stories, games and coloring pages on an interactive website. In this pre-reading activity, students have free access to stories, coloring pages and simple games at the Lil' Fingers website.