Supplement your social studies instruction with a reading passage about the Eastern Woodlands. After reading the passage, learners respond to five related questions.

As a reading comprehension exercise, kids examine a short article on the apprentice system, and then use information found in the text to respond to a series of comprehension questions.

 “Everything will end up okay if you believe hard enough.” “People create their own luck, good or bad.” Prior to reading Candide, class members respond to an anticipation guide that focuses on the issues of optimism, prejudice, and...

"Would a rational and well-regulated world include human suffering?" "If the plight of human suffering is the 'best of all possible worlds' do humans have freewill?" Class members develop their position on an issue raised by Candide,...

Ansible. Hegemony. Candor. Readers of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game create word squares for vocabulary words drawn from this award-winning science fiction novel.

Does your class or do individual learners need more practice determining the main idea of a passage of informational text? Here is a instructional activity containing seven exercises that asks kids to read short paragraphs, summarize the...

Cranberries, oysters, lobster, deer, and cabbage were just a few of the foods found on the table at the First Thanksgiving. After reading a two-page passage about the historic meal, class members respond to 10 reading...

Literary theories are lenses through which a text may be analyzed. The question in this lesson plan is how a particular literary lens can influence the reader's view of the text.

What do Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have in common? They're both billionaires, and neither one has a college degree! Using the website, scholars explore whether having a college education is truly worth the money it costs. They read...

According to some estimates, there are more guns than people in the United States. Learners decide if America should enact more gun control laws. They analyze information about gun deaths in the United States by year, read about the...

Ninth graders compare and contrast different Carnavals throughout Latin America. In this Latin American lesson, 9th graders study the geography and colonial history of Latin America.

Students identify the main ideas from expository text. In this main ideas lesson plan, students read a piece of text and practice identifying what is most important. Students complete another sample reading with a group then discuss as a...

Young scholars study a Moravian community, its town structure, and compare the town to other non-religious communities. In this religious community lesson plan, students research a Moravian community using the town plan documents and...

Third graders discover the importance of the Virginia Assembly in English America as a governing body. After discussing the formation of the House of Burgesses, they elect their own representatives to make class decisions. In groups,...

Learners analyze piece of literature by looking at it from one perspective and then by re-evaluating what they have discovered when other layers of meaning are added.

Second graders increase their baseline knowledge of primary and secondary sources and the likenesses and differences of them with regard to a selected historical event.

Students create a timeline of events during the Revolutionary War and conduct research of historical figures. They construct acrostics or diamantes of the figures' names. They evaluate the involvement of Europeans in the war.

Fourth graders work to solve one of the major problems facing the Jamestown settlers, the best location to settle upon arrival in Jamestown. Students discuss and review the past European and American events that lead to the...

Fifth graders research bartering. In this bartering lesson, 5th graders investigate bartering as a way to trade for goods and services. Students experience bartering first hand while playing a game.

Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the main...

Students use primary source documents to develop a theory about what happened at Jamestown. They use the internet to gather information about the colony. They evaluate the theory of Dr. Hancock as well.

Students explain how Pocahontas contributed to the people of Jamestown. They relate her actions to the core democratic values. They also infer about the effect of her actions.

Learners read the story of Molly's Pilgrim, create a Native American doll, and explore the meaning of the word pilgrim.

Fourth graders study the economy of Jamestown. In this early settlers lesson, 4th graders read about the trade between the English and the natives in Jamestown. This lesson is part of a larger unit and coincides with the novel The Double...