What is Lennie Small's dream job? What's the future George imagines? Readers of Of Mice and Men must identify character and events from John Steinbeck's novella about the friendship of two California migrant workers.

Explore characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through biopoems. Pupils follow the specific formatting presented here to write 11-line poems about characters in the novel.

Students explore the history of flags and design banners for their communities. their designs reflect sentiments shaped by the events of 9/11. In addition, they write phrases beginning with, "being an American means..." Students...

In this America Attacked: 9/11 worksheet, students read the book America Attacked: 9/11 and complete fact and opinion, character detail, and short answer question activities. Students complete 26 questions.

Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...

Students investigate the controversial planned mosque at Ground Zero. In this current events lesson, students watch 3 public service announcement clips sponsored by the Council on American Islamic Relations and discuss their...

Are you planning on reading The Summer of the Swans with your students? Then this packet of worksheets is for you! Students read the story in groups, and utilize this fine packet to help them keep on track, and to respond to what they...

If you plan to utilize the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" in your classroom, consider incorporating media literacy and research skills. After (or while) learners view the series, they discuss ways information can differ from source...

As part of a study of how writers structure their text so that readers understand events, class members do a close reading of "Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?" a chapter in Aronson and Budhos' Sugar Changed the...

After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...

Your 9th - 12th graders can hone their analysis and critical thinking skills by studying the way a subject is portrayed across media types. They examine how various print, visual, and online sources have portrayed key players in the 9/11...

The Haitian Revolution takes center stage as class members analyze a passage from Sugar Changed the World and consider how the authors select, present, and organize events to show how the tensions between the concerns for freedom and...

September 11th was a terrible tragedy with long-reaching consequences. Scholars learn about the Islamophobia that occurred to many Muslim Americans following the 9/11 attacks. The resource provides videos, articles, and interviews to...

Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...

At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath...

Conclude your novel study of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi with this biopoem activity. Get an in-depth look into the personal interests of the poem's subject including feelings, needs, fears, and more!  

As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.

The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...

Useful as a blast from the past, this current events activity is outdated (Fall 2001). Many global events are part of these fifty questions, but quite a few of them are very specific to pop culture and sports. This could be helpful in a...

Young citizens consider the American civil rights movement as part of the global struggle for human rights. After using a timeline activity to learn about the major events in the civil rights movement, class members study...

How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...

Don't be fooled by the size of the resource: these few pages provide the blueprint for a substantial, thoughtful unit on children's rights and the different philosophies and approaches that the United States and other countries have...

Students watch and discuss a video about teens living in and around New York and how 9-11 changed their lives. They answer discussion questions, read and discuss newspaper/magazine articles, take a self-test on depression, and create a...

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...