Drawn from the New York Times' superb Learning Network program, this multiple choice question checks readers' knowledge of two vocabulary words in a paragraph from a review of the 2011 film Take Shelter. An interactive answer key clearly...

Middle and high schoolers identify how to discover a word's meaning by exploring context clues and any pictures, diagrams, photographs, and charts that might be included. They continue this process with other examples and locate one on...

Enjoy the thrill of the movies with this ESL activity! Not only can learners talk about their favorite films, but in creating riddles about their chosen movies, they can practice the skills of context clues and deductive reasoning. This...

Fourth graders explore reading strategies through roleplaying. In this reading lesson plan, 4th graders read Wings, Stings, and Wiggly Things by Martin Jenkins. Student groups pretend to be a law firm and identify words as their evidence...

The painting Molten Polyester shows two words that contrast greatly with the image they are juxtaposed against. The artist bends the meaning of the words to create a new form of visual communication. Learners analyze the painting and...

Students discuss words that represent the big ideas in Othello and that recur throughout the play. They are assigned words to track throughout the text, recording which character says the word and in what context.

Students explore world history by completing artifact worksheets. In this archaeology lesson, students identify the importance of finding clues when researching historical information by utilizing artifacts. Students research the...

Young scholars investigate color words. In this vocabulary, high frequency words, and technology lesson, students visit various websites to practice reading color words. Young scholars listen to Eric Carle books and observe the...

Young scholars read a variety of Native American Literature and discuss the main idea by answering critical thinking questions about the poem. Students use context clues to understand the feeling of the Native American culture about the...

Students explore U.S. History by researching Kansas. In this immigration lesson, students discuss the benefits of immigrating to a state like Kansas in the 1800's while writing their thoughts and research in a reporter's notebook....

Students observe leaves and their attributes and group them accordingly. In this science observation lesson students gather leaves and use them to become more familiar with seasonal changes and the cycles of our environment. 

Students explore new vocabulary words by participating in a group activity. In this vocabulary role-playing lesson, students collaborate in groups to play a game of charades with new vocabulary words. Students are given points based on...

Students investigate the concept of capitalization by reading relevant text and finding supporting details and facts.  In this capitalization lesson, students read chapter seven in Working With Words and share predictions about the...

First graders explore human psychology by reading a book in class. In this friendship lesson, 1st graders identify the benefit of friends and strong relationships while reading the book The Rainbow Fish. Students analyze the images from...

A picture is worth a thousand words, but political art may be worth even more! After examining examples of political cartoons, murals, and other forms of public art, class members create their own pieces to reflect their ideals and...

Student read a section of Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar to identify the context. In this Shakespeare lesson, students discuss a section of Julius Caesar to determine how Cassius feels about Antony. They work with a partner to develop a...

Students explore space science by viewing videos on YouTube. In this moon landing instructional activity, students view clips of Neil Armstrong taking his first step on the moon and discuss the space race between the U.S. and Russia....

Students read and discuss "Enigmatic Portraits of Teen-Agers Free of All Context," then choose a photograph and write a first-person narrative from the perspective of the subject.

Students explore the concept of myths conveyed through art. In this art history lesson, students examine "Three Goddesses" and discuss the state of the world at the time that Nollekens created the sculptures as they analyze the pieces.

An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative lesson designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the play,...

Learners discover the cultural history of Egypt by illustrating Egyptian figures.  In this art history lesson, students analyze the Egyptian styles of figure drawings and emulate that by creating their own illustrations using an...

Students write a story about robots. For this creative writing lesson, students read a story about robots, make their own robot, and write a story about their robot. In addition, the lesson plan suggests taking photos of the robots to...

Students explore kind behavior. In this values development and literacy lesson, students listen to The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, then generate a class list of ways the tree helped the boy and ways in which the boy helped the tree....

Learners explore English by completing a word definitions worksheet. In this dictionary lesson, students practice locating a list of vocabulary terms in a "Dictionary Race." Learners complete a worksheet based upon word cards and...