Want your class to use critical thinking when discussing vocabulary? Go beyond the dictionary with a vocabulary activity based on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Kids write the word in the center of a graphic organizer that also provides...

Get readers thinking about the major themes in Victor Martinez's award-winning novel, Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by asking them to agree or disagree with the prompts on an anticipation guide and to discuss...

Why did Chinua Achebe write "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" in response to Conrad's novel? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a socratic seminar focused on Achebe's purpose and...

Thanks to this game, teaching isotopes will never be the same. Physical science scholars work their way toward understanding isotopes in an entertaining game. Pupils play rummy in groups while practicing good sportsmanship and creating...

Hot off the press: a mini-unit for class members to create their own newspaper. Complete with graphic organizers, extension activities, and helpful learning targets that teach parts of a newspaper, the resource contains everything needed...

It's time for scholars to be on their own. Individuals work independently reviewing sources to answer their research questions. Learners read "Are Your Clothes Made in Sweatshops?" to help complete the mid-unit assessment. After...

Scholars submit their final performance task, a letter to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. As a culminating activity, they share their work with classmates in small groups. 

Let's get colorful! Scholars use the Painted Essay technique to analyze and color code the conclusion of a model essay. Working in small groups, pupils then write a conclusion paragraph for their draft editorials about offshore...

Should school and professional teams test athletes for sickle cell trait? Will it protect them by providing knowledge or lead to discrimination by not allowing them to participate in sports? After learning about this genetic disorder,...

Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...

Questioning a text is a very effective way for kids to develop their reading comprehension skills. Designed to engage all class members, a reading activity prompts pairs to develop and share their own questions about the ending of Neil...

Almost complete annihilation of the plants and animals on the Earth has occurred at least five times in the past. Young scientists explore each of these events. They learn about the evidence and conclusions for each event and connect...

Is writing a craft? Scholars work in pairs and groups to uncover the author's craft presented in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. They answer guided questions, discuss with peers, and analyze the series of events. Completing a...

A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...

Youngsters discover who the leaders in their community are and what it means to build a community in this four-lesson unit. 

Use a fill-in-the-blank lesson plan template to enhance your guided reading lesson plans with details surrounding decoding strategies, fluency and phrasing, vocabulary strategies, comprehension, and more! 

Why is voting so important, anyway? Learn more about the importance of exercising a right for which many men and women marched, fought, and legislated with an interactive timeline activity.

An article about the vascular tissues inside plants provides an opportunity to assess reading comprehension. After reading the passage, kids respond to a series of comprehension questions.

Readers of Tennessee Williams' award winning memory play, The Grass Menagerie, will be neither disappointed nor discouraged by this prereading strategy that asks learners to consider what they know about Williams and his play, what they...

The history of the northern states' involvement in the slave trade is not widely known. This resource uses the PBS documentary, Traces of the Trade, and the nonfiction book, Children of the New England Slave Trade, to examine this aspect...

As learners build the "girders" of conversation by staying consistent on a particular topic, they avoid the "wrecking ball" of an off-topic comment. To help students develop this important conversation skill, this resource provides...

Lie low. Break the ice. He's a night owl. Idioms, in this case idioms created by Shakespeare, are the focus of resource that includes a PowerPoint presentation, an activity, and a brief lesson, all intended to give kids a chance to...

Throughout 10 lessons, fourth graders learn how to plan, organize, write, and edit their own personal narratives. In the beginning, young writers come up with ideas of personal experiences and the emotions linked with those experiences....

Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.