Track character development with an excerpt from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. As tenth graders examine the relationship between Jing-Mei and her mother, they compare both characters' expectations of each other in the chapter "Two Kinds."

The capitalization rules are strict and inflexible—until you experience the fluid beauty of an Emily Dickinson poem. Ninth graders test their existing knowledge of language arts conventions with the many bent grammar rules in "I Felt a...

Class members continue examining how writers develop and support their ideas by comparing two texts about globalization. Alongside chapters from Sugar Changed the World, young scholars read an article by the World Bank entitled...

All is fair in claims and counterclaims. Scholars continue to work on their argumentative writing pieces by ensuring their papers fairly address claims and counterclaims. Writers review the importance of argumentative writing conventions...

How does a soliloquy differ from a monologue? Scholars read the first soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet and compare it to Claudius's monologue. They also engage in a group discussion about Hamlet's character development.

After comparing the working conditions of the enslaved people to those of the Indian indentured workers on the sugar plantations, class members examine the conditions and the actions of specific historical figures that Marc Aronson and...

Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori presents a vivid picture of Japanese culture and history. As kids read through the third chapter, they find novel-specific vocabulary to enhance their understanding and use context clues to...

An interesting way to incorporate pop culture and the elements that make a book good. Kids watch a clip from MTV Cribs, they discuss how good or bad books are similar to good or bad homes. They are all different and not everybody will...

The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...

Students compare similar words that are often confused. In this Language arts lesson, students review meanings of words that are often confused. Students complete a worksheet and sentences to practice correct usage of these words.

Although the graphics on this length comparison exercise aren't great, pupils will get the idea. They read an indirect length word problem, which asks them to compare three animals from shortest to tallest. The wording here may be...

We know that the type of soil varies by location, but does the seafloor sediment also vary, or is it all the same? Scholars compare photos of the seafloor from two different locations: the Savannah Scarp and the Charleston Bump. Through...

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading...

Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...

Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...

The Age of Exploration is the theme of a unit designed to boost third-grade ELA skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns, examine words with prefixes and suffixes, build sentences with linking words, and use comparative and...

A read-aloud anthology highlights how one story differs depending on where it comes from. Scholars listen carefully to familiar and new stories, participate in discussions, and complete word work practice. Extensions for each lesson...

Trying to plan an engaging elementary science unit on natural resources? Conserve your energy! This five-part series of lessons and hands-on activities has exactly what you need to teach young scholars about the importance of conservation.

There's more to that glowing ball of light in sky than most children realize. From the overall structure of the solar system, to the changing of the seasons, these hands-on lessons open the eyes of young scientists to...

To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...

Young readers explore the five senses with a read-aloud anthology. Each lesson follows the routine of introducing the reading, listening to a read-aloud, answering comprehension questions, then practicing a skill. Modification and...

Compute fuel economy and gas mileage. Why? So you can teach rates and ratios, of course! Middle schoolers calculate the rate of miles per gallon for various vehicles. They research each vehicle, its mileage per gallon, and cost per...

Kindergarteners and first graders work with Reese's Pieces to explain comparing sets, create comparison sets, and compare sets of numbers and objects. A good lesson that uses a "tasty" manipulative!

Be 100 percent confident who has the most and by how much. Pupils use percentages to help make the comparisons by finding what percent one quantity is of the other. They also determine the percent differences between the two...