Oedipus' lack of literal and figurative vision does not mean he cannot see his guilt in the terrible fates of Laius, Jocasta, and all the lives touched by prophecy. Conclude a literary analysis unit on Sophocles' Oedipus the King with a...

The only way that a heinous act of genocide can succeed is if citizens of surrounding groups and countries turn their backs on those suffering. A thorough language arts module addresses shared central ideas with three separate units,...

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...

Class members continue reading "How Bernard Madoff Did It" and annotate how the author refines his idea that the Madoff scandal grabbed the attention of a public fascinated with crime stories.

Are we interested in crime stories because we either identify with the victims or enjoy watching the rich suffer? Do we feel guilty and want someone to take our blame and let us feel innocent? Groups investigate how the author of "How...

Did Bernie Madoff fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer because, as Diana Henrique contends in an excerpt from her The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death, he “did not fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer”? Huh? Groups begin their...

Who is to blame for Bernie Madoff's crime? Class members look for evidence Diana B. Henriques uses in The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust to support her claims that we share the responsibility with Madoff.

Using the open-ended discussion questions developed the day before, class members engage in a fishbowl discussion of the three texts that anchor the unit: “True Crime: The Roots of an American Obsession," “How Bernard Madoff Did It,” and...

"True-crime stories, murder mysteries, up-to-the-minute online news reports, and (as always) rumor and innuendo grab our attention faster than any call for justice, human rights, or ceasefires." Or so says Walter Mosley in his Newsweek...

"Everybody is guilty of something." As class members continue their close reading of Walter Mosley's essay, they examine how Mosley develops and supports his central ideas about Western civilization's relationship to guilt.

"We need forgiveness and someone to blame." True? Class members continue their analysis of the central claims in Walter Mosley's essay and the support he offers for these claims about people's fascination with crime.

What are the qualities of a strong written response to a prompt? Class members use the provided text analysis rubric to self-assess their responses to their homework assignments to prepare for the mid-unit assessment.

As part of a mid-unit assessment, class members exchange their draft of a multi-paragraph essay with a classmate, review their partner's writing using the provided text analysis rubric, and evaluate the strength of evidence, the...

Now that learners have honed their inquiry-based projects down to their strongest few questions, they can conduct independent research. High schoolers pursue answers to their inquiries while assessing sources, establishing a research...

Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...

Nine lessons in a grammar and usage unit provide endless opportunities for drill and practice. Topics include the four types of sentences, subject and predicates, nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs and prepositions, conjunctions...

Pupils explore the concept of measurement. In this measurement lesson, students discuss what specific measurement tools such as an odometer measure. Pupils recite a measurement poem. Students make a foldable with conversion units from...

High schoolers in chemistry or health courses look at the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and periodic table of elements to gather information about mercury and lead, two toxic materials that have been found in food products. They read...

Review various aspects related to place value with this easy-to-follow presentation. Learners can review the base ten system, see representations, and read descriptions of ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands, and numbers in expanded...

In this three-digit numbers activity, students write numbers in columns of place values, write expanded form numbers in standard forms, and write numbers using words. Students complete fifteen number activities.

Pupils listen to a teacher reading of The Little Red Hen, identify the story elements and sequence them. They talk about different jobs associated with providing food and act out a play based on the story. Be aware that although several...

Don't worry if you do not have the mentioned textbook; there is enough material here for you to carry out a pertinent polygon plan. After introducing your class to various polygons and the prefixes that help identify them, hand out...

Fourth graders practice spelling words that have prefixes un-, re-, and pre-. Assign this as homework. To help meet Common Core standards, you could also have learners look up each word in the dictionary and write down definitions.

Youngsters learn about simple machines that could be used on a farm.  They learn about agricluture, listen to a farmer speak, compare and contrast different farm machines, and then design their own. Note that although the publisher...