The proof is in the details! A richly detailed plan provides clear examples of how to draw inferences from text and how to provide support drawn directly from the text. 

Continued conflict in the Middle East makes this lesson relevant, and the inclusion of a critique of Lawrence of Arabia might increase student interest in a potentially challenging topic. The resource includes a solid...

Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

Young learners need practice speaking comfortably in front of others. Post a list of oral speaking tips on the board during this unit. Over a week-long period, they create a story from their interview sheet and present it to the class....

Blend art, adolescent snacking habits, and math to create new cereal boxes. Secondary learners review scale drawings. They use this information to construct cereal boxes to scale and will compare their creation to the original product to...

Students research the life of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students use the Internet to discover facts about his life. Students practice using Internet tools.

Students learn the different ways to pass a volleyball while playing the game. In this volleyball lesson plan, students learn how to serve, bump, and pass a volleyball.

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

Just how big would it really be? Young mathematicians determine if different toys are proportional and if their scale is accurate. They solve problems relating scale along with volume and surface area using manipulatives. The...

Teach the class how to put together a PowerPoint presentation using their autobiography as the content. First, have them use the outline given to put together their autobiography in storyboard fashion. Now, they have their content ready...

Fifth graders analyze a poem. In this poetry analysis lesson students read a poem, analyze it, and write a response. They write about their own thoughts on the poem's meaning and any feelings they have about the poem.

Learning to cook, follow directions, and presenting information are skills every body needs to know. Learners complete a recipe-in-a-jar activity to hone these life skills. They follow the directions, choose and use correct measurement...

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 instructional...

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 instructional activity. Middle schoolers write descriptions of different animals using details and descriptive language. They watch a video of kids using descriptive language, and then use...

"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 instructional activity like this one. The class...

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 activity 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...