Why is it important to use precise language? Participants explore this question in the fourth activity in a series of 15 on effective instruction. Perfect for all content areas, the activity promotes appropriate language choice through...

Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...

Teachers turning into students? It's not Freaky Friday! It's a thoughtful workshop that teaches participants how to plan professional development for staff. Third in a 15-part series, the workshop provides a platform for the other...

Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...

How have educational standards evolved? Educators of adults examine expectations in the 10th workshop out of 15 to better determine how standards have grown. Participants respond to a variety of sample questions to determine how they...

What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...

Here is an interesting plan for introducing your pupils to the workings of the local city council. The teacher must go videotape a city council meeting in it's entirety. Learners watch the tape, and discuss what they observed from the...

What should readers do to prepare for reading an informational text? What should they do during their reading? What should they do after completing such a text? Introduce your pupils to reading strategies and techniques to gain meaning...

Students discuss Scholastic Art Magazine issue on 'Artists Today' . They participate in a class discussion & watch a demonstration on the use of 'found objects' and ordinary materials (i.e. paper towels, leaves) to create surface...

Joey Alphonso made up this game, which is played using a gator skin ball and a tennis racket on a basketball court. The simple rules and strategy of the game are explained. This is a high-scoring, run around activity. Everyone can...

How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...

Second graders, using concrete objects or drawings, explain the difference between odd and even numbers.

Fifth graders, using a graphic organizer, analyze three presidents.

Seventh graders are introduced to geographic thinking, setting the stage for the creation of a map showing distance, direction, location and symbols from their residences to school.

Students examine media language for dangerous storms stressing; preparation, evacuation, and emergency assistance, and problem-solving techniques for emergency situations.

Third graders use a computer as a research tool. They make note cards as they go and use their note cards to guide their word processing. They edit their papers and add artwork.

Students comprehend how to produce these pronuciation features, recognize the various blends of two and three letter consonant sounds, hear the sounds, produce them correctly when thinking about it, and practice correct pronuciation to...

Students investigate the animals and plants of the rainforests. They define rainforest, watch and discuss a National Geographic video, and write a short story.

Second graders investigate the reasons animals hibernate. They measure their own heart rates and compare them to those of a hibernating bear. In their journals, 2nd graders record facts about and characteristics of hibernation and...

Students investigate the concept of phonemic awareness in order to help increase reading comprehension. The reading of food labels creates the context for the practice session. They pay particular attention to certain sounds that must be...

Fourth graders do a visual presentation for a specific endangered species.

Fourth graders explore and discuss the process of evaporation. They discuss how wet things become dry. Students observe the process of evaporation and they make predictions about the observations they make about evaporation. Students...