Considering adding more research to your curriculum? Check out this idea. The assignment example, which connects to the Common Core, is written for a lesson on "The Scarlet Ibis." However, you could adapt the bigger idea to almost any...

Your learners need to develop skills to argue effectively, and this comes by understanding the traditions that make claims valid, and what detracts from their effectiveness.  Although this resource does not give advice on how to...

Assess whether your class members can comprehend complex informational text with a series of drills based on selections from Emerson, Thoreau, and G.K. Chesterton. The exercises could also be used for group work or a full-class discussion.

Still working on deciphering the Common Core standards? Let this resource help you out with the fourth speaking and listening standard! After a brief explanation of the standard, the resource details two example activities and provides...

Don't let your pupils take everything at face value! They should analyze and evaluate what speakers say. Practice this skill with the two related activities described here. After brainstorming critical questions, learners can listen to...

High schoolers know how to use technology, but they often need more training on how to use it effectively for educational or professional purposes. Try out the activities described here to get your pupils thinking about interesting ways...

Do your pupils know what a primary source is? How about a secondary source? Provide them with the information here about different types of documents and then test their knowledge with a brief quiz. The quiz is made up of two documents....

With a nice description of what the standard means, an idea for a class activity, and a quiz with answers, this resource should deepen your (and your pupils') understanding of the targeted Common Core standard. The provided activity is...

Ask your pupils to explore the sounds, forms, and language of poetry by putting together a portfolio of their own work. In a binder, learners collect the poems listed on the second page of the assignment sheet. Each individual creates a...

What does the author believe about his topic? Why did he write in the first place? Challenge your class to figure out the answers to these questions as they read through informational texts. The resource provides a breakdown of the...

To make the point that there are many forms of language, each with its own purpose, class members select 10 lines from Doescher's play, translate these lines first into contemporary English and then into "SMS/Tweet." 

An interesting article on editors helps young writers understand the conventions of written English. They read a news article about an editor traveling America correcting spelling and punctuation errors on signs.  They discuss...

A thorough lesson plan takes your first grade class through Jane Yolen's beautiful Owl Moon. It crafts the unit with clear objectives, high-level guiding questions, cloze activities and sentence frames, and extension...

Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...

"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-lesson unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star Wars® as source...

The most pesky of homophones: to, too and two! Here's a worksheet to help you review and discuss what homophones are and how to correctly use them in sentences. Learners choose the correct word for 20 sentences. This can serve as an...

After looking into the life, art, and social contributions of artist Emory Douglas, learners analyze several social art pieces. They use Emory Douglas as an example of social art, then consider 10 other pieces. They write a paper...

Ten famous quotes are written on these slides, at first without punctuation. After giving learners a chance to punctuate the quotes, the correct punctuation is shown. Use memorable words to develop long-term grasp of how to use commas,...

Who purloined the poodle? Class groups read police reports and theorize whodunnit. The sixth of a ten-lesson series on mysteries.

Lesson 10 in a series of human rights lessons focuses on the skills of finding evidence and summarizing. Your young readers work to compare the two texts they have read in this unit: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

Pay attention to details! After completing text-dependent questions about paragraphs 10-12 of "Water is Life," scholars view the video "Why Care about Water. "They view the video three times and use a Main Idea and Details note-catcher...

Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...

Covering vocabulary, literary analysis, and grammar, this worksheet would be a great study guide or homework assignment for an eighth-grade Language Arts class. Though the five stories by Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, and Oscar Wilde are...

Review the rule "i before e except after c, or when it sounds like 'ay' as in neighbor and weigh" with your class and then set your learners to practice with this basic exercise. They fill in blank spaces with either ie or ei in 25...