How do writers engage their readers in a story? Pupils consider the question and use the informational text, "The Hero's Journey" to justify their plan for their own fictional narrative. To that end, scholars write an explanatory...

Let's talk it out. Using the resource, scholars work in triads to discuss how their research has deepened their understanding about sustainable fishing. Next, pupils engage in a whole-class discussion to consider their next steps toward...

Redesign your holiday celebrations with the aid of a lesson plan booklet packed with facts, images, maps, activities, and readings about the three-day feast that marked the English settlers' first successful harvest.

Students compare the situation of Latin American immigrants with the situation of immigrants from other areas of the world. They use media to obtain information on topics of academic interest, personal interest, and intellectual interest.

A straightforward and thorough packet of reading exercises would be a solid addition to any reading unit. With worksheets that address various writing and reading skills, including word roots, narrative writing, evaluating text, and...

Make up your mind to complete a lesson plan about "The Tell-Tale Heart" and forever rid yourself of simple sentence structures. As ninth graders analyze the first two paragraphs of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, they consider how text...

Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...

It may not be 4 o'clock in the morning when you have ended these labors, but it's still time to work on textual analysis. Study the resolution of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" through the thematic lens of guilt and confession,...

Continue a thoughtful analysis of Sophocles' Oedipus the King by discussing the importance of dialogue within the play's structure. Ninth graders examine how Oedipus speaks about himself to his subjects and Creon before recording their...

The concept of sight, whether it's a lack of sight or abundant sight of the future, plays a vital role in Sophocle's Oedipus the King. Develop your ninth graders' literary vision with a lesson that connects the prophecy of Teiresias to...

How can a prophecy be true if the future differs from what was foreseen? Sophocles entertains this question in Oedipus the King. Teiresias, Creon, and Oedipus have weighed in on the unsolved murder of Laius, and now Jocasta voices her...

The text structure is vitally important when crafting a rise in tension. Explore Sophocles' choice to order his events in a particular sequence with a lesson about Oedipus the King. As the light of realization dawns on the characters,...

Sometimes, the movie version of a book can provide additional details about the source material, particularly when the film is thoughtfully directed and well-acted. Ninth graders watch a two-minute clip from the movie Temple Grandin and...

Ninth graders study the study of animals in an informational text lesson plan that focuses on analyzing text structure. As learners continue reading the first chapter of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, they form inquiries and...

Clear up the misconceptions about autism and individuals on the autism spectrum with an inquiry-based instructional activity. As ninth graders read the first four pages of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of...

To what extent can the surrounding environment influence one's behavior? Temple Grandin explores her connection to animals and her unique ability to understand their behavior with a lesson plan focusing on her book, Animals in...

"We need forgiveness and someone to blame." True? Class members continue their analysis of the central claims in Walter Mosley's essay and the support he offers for these claims about people's fascination with crime.

Now that learners have honed their inquiry-based projects down to their strongest few questions, they can conduct independent research. High schoolers pursue answers to their inquiries while assessing sources, establishing a research...

Anna McMullen's opinion piece "Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Who Really Pays for our Cheap Clothes?" offers readers another opportunity to examine how writers craft and support their arguments. After reading McMullen's article, class...

The Sugar Changed the World chapter, "The Sound of Liberty," highlights how the differing attitudes toward the slave trade shifted the issue from an economic concern to a concern for human rights. The passage contrasts Thomas Jefferson's...

What did the Crusades and plantations do with the global sugar spread? As class members continue their study of Sugar Changed the World, they examine how Crusaders brought sugar to Western Europe and how cultivating sugar led to the...

What are the four basic steps of any nonviolent campaign? Readers discover the answer by analyzing a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. Lesson three involves discussion and analysis of King's claims in paragraphs seven through...

Is good good enough? Scholars examine claims made in a speech by Elanor Roosevelt. Roosevelt claims that people should adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because it is a good document. Readers discuss their ideas in pairs,...

Class members read the chapter, "Serfs and Sweetness" from Sugar Changed the World, and identify the central idea that the development of beet sugar and modern farming technology changed the reliance on the plantation system and made...