Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...

In the first lesson plan of this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders gain background knowledge of different jobs performed by early colonists. The class begins with a slide show presentation that includes a variety of great...

Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...

Close up your unit of study with an examination of one of the guiding or essential questions as it relates to what your class has studied and other research. Class members first write down the question. Then they note down information...

Apply reading standards to your science curriculum by asking pupils to complete this guide. Individuals note down important vocabulary as well as two ideas they learned and two supporting facts for each idea. They then take this...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Encourage your young citizens to make a difference. Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America as a starting point, class members watch documentaries, investigate issues, and then write letters to...

After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...

Provide young scholars with the tools they need to succeed with this reference on the Cornell note-taking strategy. By breaking the content of lessons into main ideas, supporting details, and overall summaries, students are...

Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...

From understanding stock market performance and return on investment to identifying the costs and benefits of credit and avoiding debt problems, this is an absolute must-have resource for financial planning and literacy.

Guide your learners step by step through the process of designing an original, independent student project. This resource includes a wealth of worksheets and materials, including student project checklists, timelines, primary and...

Students, while in the computer lab visiting the National Geographic Kids website, fill out a checklist of unimportant/redundant information, look for important events and ideas and search for the author's main idea and supporting...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

Save trees! Save graphite! Save ink! Go paperless! Make a list, mindmap, sketch an idea. Import, scale, rotate, and add text to images. Save content into books and share your creations. All this and more is yours with a free visual...

Technology—what exactly is it? Find out with a project designed to inspire the inner inventor in us all. The activity begins with a captivating podcast and a search of multiple websites that display different inventions and technology,...

You're on camera! Third graders find a news story and research it to get more information. Everyone uses their found information to write a script and create their own news broadcast!

What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...

Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...

Code red! Learners read an informational article about the Red Cross, discussing the gist of the text in small groups. On a three-column note catcher, pupils take notes to show how the Red Cross functions as a multinational aid...

In other words. Scholars practice using paraphrasing and quotes. They partner in pairs to write a paraphrase for an information text strip. Individuals then use their skills to paraphrase information from the text Fire Ants.

The beauty of this colorful presentation about Cornell notes is that it begins with a very powerful statistic: "Those who take organized notes and do something with them remember 90-100% of the material indefinitely!" Zounds! Now there's...

Let's ask an expert. Scholars divide into groups to research and become experts on either ants or butterflies. Learners use task cards and text on their topic to complete a note catcher. At the end, they share their information with a...

Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...