There are a lot of myths and misinformation out there about mental illness. Help set the record straight with a resource that debunks the falsehoods and provides high schoolers with accurate and important information about the various...

After gathering information about Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), high schoolers engage in two activities designed to educate themselves and others. They begin by using what they have learned to write a speech for a friend who...

The goal of this Health Smart instructional activity is for freshmen to develop a personal system for coping with stress. They create a power-up list of things that make them feel happier, healthier, or better connected, identify people...

"Fake News" (stories that are entirely fabricated/fictional) is the subject of a case study of the search for Jestin Coler, the creator of some of the most famous fake news stories. After reading NPR's investigative report, scholars...

A Reading Adventure Pack focuses on cooking. Scholars participate in three hands-on activities after reading the fiction book Easy as Pie by Cari Best and the nonfiction book How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? by Chris Butterworth....

A reading adventure pack looks closely at government with the help of two books—one fiction, one nonfiction, and a series of activities. Learners craft a mobile to visualize a balanced government, participate in a scavenger hunt around...

Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...

And the plot thickens! The third interactive in this series introduces young scholars to the cause-and-effect nature of a fictional story plot. They learn about the characteristics of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action,...

Finding the central idea in a text is equally important in fiction and nonfiction. Work on analyzing a piece of writing for the central idea with Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," complete with supporting...

How do the narrative and play versions of the myth "Pyramus and Thisbe" affect meaning? Scholars reread Act 5, Scene 1 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and compare its structure to "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use a...

After reading a series of informative articles about healthy and abusive relationships, class members demonstrate what they have learned as they take on the role of RESPECT hotline counselors and offer advice to fictional victims of...

There's a fine line between reality and fiction. As an end-of-unit assessment, scholars complete worksheets to analyze how Laurence Yep's perspective on being Chinese factors into his novel Dragonwings. Next, pupils engage in a...

Even fictional characters have rights. Scholars read selected passages from Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising and consider which of the five categories from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the text relates to. They glue each...

Here's a must-have packet for your curriculum library. If you are interested in Fahrenheit 451, if you are interested in Ray Bradbury, if you are interested in censorship, if you interested in programs that make a difference, then...

Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...

Fourth graders determine whether or not statements about the Ohio statehouse are true or false. They examine the stories behind the myths about it. including one about the ghost of Abraham Lincoln.

Explore non-fiction comprehension strategies with your class. They will visualize daily activities and label a 4 circle Venn diagram with related phrases. They must identify the overlapping sections as "main ideas," then complete a...

Students evaluate information they are given and identify the quality of the information as fact, fiction, and point of view. In this information quality lesson plan, students also discuss how they can pick out good information verses...

A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...

Students complete Dossier handouts that define qualities of fictional journal characters, and then write journal entries with specific grammar requirements, while assuming identity of fictional adults.

Young scholars research life in the Middle Ages. They write a historical fiction diary based on a character they create. Students use the six steps to process writing to complete their diary. They orally present their diaries to the class.

Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...

Examine the elements of nonfiction writings in this lesson. Learners list common features of nonfiction and compare nonfiction and fiction books on the same topic. Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two genres.

Elementary schoolers practice the skill of non-fiction writing. They study aspects of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, and write an essay which describes the tower and it's fascinating history. The article about the tower is included in...