Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...

It's no masquerade! If Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera is part of your curriculum, check out this three-page packet loaded with suggestions for before, during, and after reading activities.

Peter Bunzi takes readers to the Victorian era with two stories, Coghaert and Moonlocket. Accompany the literary time warp with a companion packet that offers a plethora of exercises. Learning...

Track your class's progress on all of the ELA Common Core standards with these handy charts. Along the left side, each seventh grade identifier is listed along with the full text of the standard. As you teach, reteach, assess,...

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...

The materials in this 40-page packet are designed for learners who need extra support in order to understand the concepts in a thematic unit on fantasy and realism.

What kind of animals live on an ice planet like Hoth? How would the habitat on Tatooine allow different organisms to thrive? Connect social studies, science, and Star Wars in one engaging activity that focuses on the ecosystems...

Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles provides the text for a fishbowl activity. Class members to sit in concentric circles, with the center circle discussing the topics from the book, and the outer circle observing the...

Discussing great works of literature with peers is an excellent way to both comprehend and celebrate reading! Learners work in literature circles during a unit on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, and share paragraphs that...

Drag queens in thigh-high shiny red leather boots! Welcome to Kinky Boots, the Tony Award-winning musical about a young man trying to save his family-owned shoe-making business. With an engaging story line and songs by Cyndi Lauper, the...

Don't let the length scare you away. An eBook version of David Copperfield contains all 1,307 pages of the story. This digital version of the classic coming-of-age novel follows the title character from childhood into adulthood,...

Investigate biographies with your class. Compare autobiographies and biographies of Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example. Learners explore the factual components that make up a biography and locate several biographies of notable...

Young scholars summarize a book which they have read. A slide show depicting an action scene in their chosen book is created and three main characters described using a web.

Elementary schoolers investigate nonfiction stories by analyzing facts and opinions. They read nonfiction stories about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Pupils utilize a T-chart to list the facts and opinions on opposite sides, and then...

Young writers will literally step into art and creative writing as they become the figures featured in the sculpture Mud Woman Rolls On. Begin by showing your class a picture of the sculpture and having a discussion about its most...

Students compare the unique characteristics of Earth to other planets and then write descriptions of Earth that might attract fictional extraterrestrials to visit the planet. They design an appealing travel brochure that incorporates the...

Students read about tigers in both fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose. They study tiger markings in photographs of living tigers to create a sculptural mask reflecting their knowledge of tiger markings. Afterward, they write and...

Learners examine pictures of people who lived during the feudal system. In groups, they research the role and lifestyles of the nobility and commoners. To end the lesson, they draw their own fictional person and write their own narrative...

Fashioned in a simple format, the subject of this presentation is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and could be a model for future projects. Even if your class does not do a unit on famous sites in European cities, this could be used a a way...

Whether or not your school/state has adopted the Common Core standards, you will want to add this resource to your Of Mice and Men curriculum materials. The chapter-by-chapter activities ask readers to provide evidence from the novella...

Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...

Students put writing pieces into categories to show different organizational features in writing. In this writing lesson plan, students are shown examples of speeches, poems, editorials, cartoons, parodies, historical fiction, and more.

Young scholars examine the various combinations that contemporary extended families take on. They identify how strong communication skills are important to the health of the family after reading a an excerpt from a first-person fictional...