Close reading doesn't mean to literally read text close to your face, but rather to pay attention to particular details in order to develop a deep and purposeful understanding of text. The first part of a five-part resource provides an...

Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

In the tenth instructional activity of this unit, young scholars learn to categorize information as they continue researching their colonial trade. During guided practice, the teacher models how to read informational text slowly while...

Youngsters visit the classroom library to complete various reading activities, pushing their motivation to read! They will discuss different library books and read two specific books that use "Building Block" reading skills. They also...

The 11 lessons in this educators' guide focus on using newspapers to develop critical reading skills in the content areas.

The 359-page guide is designed to help high schoolers develop their leadership skills. Class members generate a list of leadership characteristics, research outstanding leaders, consider their own leadership style, and practice...

Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...

Apply reading standards to your science curriculum by asking pupils to complete this guide. Individuals note down important vocabulary as well as two ideas they learned and two supporting facts for each idea. They then take this...

Here is a handy guide for putting together a research report on birds, or on a selection of other topics (see the added materials.). Individuals are guided to think of three questions about their topic, they narrow down subtopics, use a...

Anthony Mann's 1953 film biography, The Glenn Miller Story, is the focus of a series of activities that introduce class members to Miller's life and music. Of particular interest to music students will be the cameos by many famous...

Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...

Imagine a list that includes Alan Abelson of Baron's, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, and Mother Jones. High schoolers select a national columnist, read and annotate five columns by this author, noting the rhetorical...

The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...

Introduce your class to the concept of copyright with a series of activities. Pupils first learn about copyright laws and fair use, putting their knowledge to the test with a quick categorizing task. They then watch a video and answer...

What can we do to make our school community more aware of cyberbullying? From The Social Media Toolbox, lesson 10 of 16 takes on the tough topic of bullying. Learners research cyberbullying through online research, then create an...

Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...

Reporting the news is easy, right? Think again! Show young scholars the difficult choices journalists make every day through a activity that includes reading, writing, and discussion elements. Individuals compare the language and sources...

Ready, set, act! Using the fun resource, pupils patriciate in a vocabulary charades activity to practice key terms from the unit. Next, scholars work in expert research groups to read an article about the invention of the traffic signal...

After reading Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and discussing background material about domestic violence, class members create a map showing where in their community survivors of domestic violence can get help and...

Wouldn't it be great to live an a community without pain, without danger? Such a society is the goal of the community in The Giver. Using Lois Lowry's dystopian novel as the core text, class members read primary source materials...

How does a society influence and shape individuals? Class members ponder this essential question as they read Lord of the Flies, as well as primary source materials about the historical background of the novel. As a...

If you are considering adding or expanding a unit on utopian and dystopian literature you simply must check out this fabulous resource. Packed with plans, activities, project-based and 21st century learning opportunities, the unit...

Third graders investigate guide words. For this library lesson, 3rd graders investigate guide words in reference materials and complete an alphabetizing worksheet.