Get those red pens ready! Using the Peer Critique protocol, scholars provide and receive feedback on their editorial essay drafts. They then use class time to work on revisions. 

Using a helpful resource, pupils watch a TED Talk of an opinion speech as they consider the criteria for a high-quality introduction. Scholars then engage in a shared writing process with the teacher to practice writing the introduction...

Students review Emily Dickinson's biography and examine themes and forms of some of her poems. They measure ways Graham integrates aspects of Dickinson's life and the themes and forms of her poetry into Letters to the World.

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...

Young learners discover how the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes preserved native culture through the making of traditional dresses, identifying the resources used to make the dresses and discussing behind the meaning behind some...

The importance of accepting those who are different is the subject of a service learning project. Upper graders craft presentations for younger learners on ways to include everyone in the school community and to decrease the feelings of...

Discover the classic example of periodicity: Ferris wheels. Young mathematicians learn about trigonometric functions through Ferris wheels. They match functions to their graphs and relate the functions to the context.

Here is an art activity that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the importance of...

Connect art to social issues with a extended inquiry project. Individuals or small groups select a social issue and a type of art to explore. They complete a KWL chart for both the social issue and the art strand and take time to create...

Explore contemporary American Indian art. After viewing a set of images, class members discuss the design elements of techniques present, as well as how these artists represent history and culture. Learners examine the parfleche and...

Ever sigh when learners ask why they have to know so many different forms of the quadratic equation? Here is a lesson that comes in handy! Using hands-on matching activities, quadratic equations are explored through...

See how design and geometry go hand in hand. The activity asks learners to use geometry to design a backyard garden given dimensions of each feature. Scholars work with ratios and scale to develop an accurate scale drawing that includes...

Sew up pupil interest with an engaging, hands-on lesson. Learners first design a sports bag given constraints on the dimensions of fabric. They then evaluate provided sample responses to identify strengths and weaknesses of included...

Presenting ... the gold standard for a lesson plan. Learners first investigate a task maximizing the area of a plot for gold prospecting. They then examine a set of sample student responses to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

Going around in circles trying to find a resource on sectors of circles? Here is an activity where pupils first complete an assessment task to determine the areas and perimeters of sectors of circles. They then participate in an...

Identify the identity. Learners first solve equations to find the number of solutions. Scholars then determine if given equations are always, sometimes, or never true, leading to the concept of identities.

Complete two conversions at once using compositions. Pupils use the conversion formulas for temperatures to calculate a formula to convert directly between Kelvin and Fahrenheit. Classmates determine the meanings of composition...

Determine the location of a point on a moving wheel. The task challenges groups to determine the horizontal and vertical locations of a point on the edge of wheel that is moving. Teams first determine a function that will model the...

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Collaboration is the key for this equation-solving lesson. Learners solve a multi-step linear equation that requires using the distributive property. Within collaborative groups, scholars discuss multiple methods and troubleshoot mistakes.

Dig into a classic math problem with your classes. Through an engaging task, learners work with rate and distance information to make conclusions. In the task, two people walk at different rates; one leaves first, and scholars...

Discover relationships between linear and nonlinear functions. Initially, a set of data seems linear, but upon further exploration, pupils realize the data can model an infinite number of functions. Scholars use multiple representations...

Teach solving absolute value inequalities through inquiry. Groups use their knowledge of absolute value and solving inequalities to find a solution set to an absolute value inequality. Working collaboratively encourages discussion,...

Where in the world (or at least in the coordinate plane) is the third vertex? Given two coordinate points for the vertices of a triangle, individuals find the location of the third vertex. They read an account of fictional...