Introduce pupils to chemical reactions. Using the hands-on lesson, learners experiment with substances that combine to form a gas. Different substances react to form different amounts of gas, leading to a discussion about the particles...

Heat water up like a NASA engineer. Using the engineering design process, investigators create a system to trap and move heat through a water-filled tube. Designers participate in a post-activity discussion that highlights the role of...

Coldhearted snob or warm and caring? A series of activities prepares scholars to evaluate the main character in Jane Austen's Emma. To begin, class members compare the gender expectations for women in Regency England and those of today....

Class members take on the role of historical investigators to determine why it took 40 years for women in the United States to get the right to vote. Sleuths view videos and analyze primary sources and images to gather evidence to answer...

John Hughes' The Breakfast Club takes center stage in a lesson about annotating nonfiction texts to keep track of evidence that may be used later in discussions and writings. Scholars consider the stereotypes and conflicts presented in...

An engaging video begins a lesson plan all about the representation of Native Americans in all types of careers. Following a discussion about the video, scholars participate in a gallery walk showcasing various Native American figures....

The engagement is in the details. Young scholars learn the benefit of weaving descriptive and sensory details into the fabric of their writing through the activities in this lesson. As their hands explore items concealed in bags, a...

Pupils take part in a close reading of the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, in which they delve deep into its meaning and identify its rules to live by. As the grand discussion progresses, learners then relate the poem's rules with those...

Bud followed a series of rules from Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. The question is, how did he use those rules to thrive or survive? After a grand discussion, class members explore the novel to locate and cite textual...

What goes around, comes around. Using the resource, pupils read Act 4.3 of Macbeth, in which Macduff and Malcolm plan to attack Macbeth. Scholars then hold a discussion and complete writing activities to analyze Shakespeare's structural...

How do complex characters develop throughout a text? Pupils read Act 5.1 from Shakespeare's Macbeth, which depicts Lady Macbeth's descent into madness. Using discussion and writing exercises, scholars analyze how Shakespeare develops...

Two minds are better than one. Learners engage in an evidence-based discussion to identify central ideas in Audre Lorde's poem "From the House of Yamanjá" and one additional nonfiction text. They complete a Cross-Evidence Collection Tool...

Pupils continue reading and discussing Simon Schama's article "The Shakespeare Shakedown." They work together to analyze the article's paragraph structure, completing a note-catcher worksheet.

Readers practice gathering textual evidence to support their understanding of character point of view in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Working with partners, they complete a Gathering Evidence graphic organizer and engage in...

Name your source. Scholars receive research folders with articles of information about natural resources. They use the sources to conduct research to answer questions about how Canada's environment meets the needs of the people and how...

Get your class ready to read Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard with an anticipation guide. This document describes exactly how to create and implement an anticipation guide.

Prior to reading Night, class members engage in a guided imagery activity that helps them make text-to-self connections to Elie Wiesel’s account of his experiences with his father in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Complete directions, as well...

A guided imagery exercise about a favorite person prepares class members for the introduction of Holden Caulfield's brother, in chapter five of J.D. Salinger's famous novel. This focus on Allie emphasizes for readers his importance to...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

What would happen if I structured this review by beginning in the middle of it? Or by flashing back to the dinner I had last night that gave me bad heartburn, and then transitioned into how the lingering burn of acid seeped into my...

Dig into chapter 19 of Running Out of Time with questions covering each level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Learners read the text, respond to the questions in paragraph form, and then discuss the answers as a class.

What is advertising? What role does it plan in an election? Middle and high schoolers discuss advertising and its purpose by sifting through different magazines and discussing the products they find. Then they relate advertisements to...

Young scientists critique the breakdown of detailed observations. They discover the importance of writing down experimental procedures. There are some guided discussion questions at the end of the resource.

Build a literature unit around the book George Washington's Socks with this series of short answer questions. Broken up in two- and three-chapter increments, these reading comprehension questions allow young readers to demonstrate...