Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson plan,...

Included here are step-by-step instructions for conducting a close reading of The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman. After an individual and class reading, class members read carefully through the text excerpt,...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

Finding the central idea is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers write descriptions of different animals using details and descriptive language. They watch a video of kids using descriptive language, and then use showing language...

"O pun" the door on this activity. Have your pupils compare the puns and word play in scenes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night to those in Gary Blackwood’s The Shakespeare Stealer. Warm up and introductory activities, as well as...

You're in high school and you just got the coolest car ever! But, now you need to start thinking about car insurance. Luckily, your teacher prepared you by engaging you in a life skills activity like this one. The class actually calls...

Foster your high schoolers' creativity - and generosity - with this writing lesson. After reading the article "Homemade Holiday Gifts" by Frances Janisch (from the GALE Student Resource Center - Gold), pupils meet in groups to brainstorm...

Some kids think that making a plan for the future is a cinch! Let them discover through peer work and discussion that the road through life isn't always an easy one. The activities and worksheets in this lesson provide them with an...

Linear perspective, estuaries, and water ways converge in a science-inspired art project. The class uses what they've learned about eco-systems, estuaries, and the food chain to create scale models of a local marsh. While the lesson...

Looking for a good lesson on dictionary and word definition skills? The lesson presented here is for you! In it, learners utilize a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to record a word's definition(s), etymology, multiple meanings,...

How does the president of the United States get the authority to exercise his/her duties? What responsibilities and tasks go into a hard day's work for the president? Here is a lesson plan that includes several instructional materials...

Professional or unprofessional? That is the question addressed by a lesson on workplace attire. Class members examine images posted on job search sites like Linkedin and those posted by celebrities. They consider the implications of...

Find the author's purpose in this review worksheet. Fourth graders read each of the three following paragraphs and decide whether the author's purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain. You could use this activity as a class...

Bring Consumer Mathematics and Economics to life with this lesson plan, where learners investigate personal finance and budgeting. They use the newspaper’s classified section to determine a future job and potential earnings and determine...

Drama and movement are wonderful ways to cover story elements such as setting, character, and descriptive writing. Little ones listen to a poem about imaginary creatures. As they listen, they shape their bodies into what they think the...

Even though the student handouts are not included in the write-up, this lesson contains the instructions for terrific activities to use when teaching middle schoolers about metamorphic rocks. First, they compare granite to gneiss and...

Take a look at a very simple activity on text size, text colors, and font choices. There is a step-by-step guide directing the young learners on what to do to change these things when working on a computer. Take it even further by adding...

Explore informative and explanatory writing with this lesson. Using a cube labeled with directives to describe, analyze, compare, associate, apply, and argue the topic, middle schoolers work individually or in groups to answer questions....

If you don't teach blind or visually impaired learners, this lesson may seem a bit strange. But, it helps them develop motor skills, orientation and movement skills, and listening skills, while building a better understanding of...

The second lesson in a unit on set design focuses on the importance of historical and stylistic research. Working in teams created in the previous session, groups consider what resources they will use as they consider design concepts for...

Career exploration is the focus of a lesson that encourages pupils to choose a profession based on their strengths and interests. Following a thoughtful discussion covering different character traits, class members complete an...

Sixth graders study the food web in a bay. In this food web lesson, 6th graders investigate the SAV- submerged aquatic vegetation of a bay including their predators, and how the organisms eat, have proper living space and water. They...

Present tense verbs are the focus of a 24-page packet designed for language learners and loaded with activities, worksheets, and exercises. Step-by-step directions, materials lists, and variations for each lesson are included. A solid...