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...

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...

Teach your readers strategies for breaking down informational texts. Pupils develop and implement the tools they'll need to decode texts for the rest of their lives with an informational resource that focuses on the structure and...

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

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,...

Why is online privacy so important? Explore privacy with a group assignment for which pupils create word clouds with words they associate with privacy. A discussion and online activity follow. Learners will read articles, explore the...

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...

Students examine the use of the Underground Railroad. For this Underground Railroad lesson, students determine the meaning of the word slavery. They study the Underground Railroad through the use of literature and Internet websites. They...

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...

What evidence supports the big bang theory? Individuals analyze scholarly resources about the the theory and develop arguments backed by evidence. They brainstorm, share ideas, watch a video, and read articles to complete a graphic...

Provide young scholars with the tools they need to succeed with this reference on the Cornell note-taking strategy. By breaking the content of lessons into main ideas, supporting details, and overall summaries, students are...

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...

The Internet is known as the information superhighway, but sometimes it's hard to know when to hit the brakes on unreliable sources. Using a well-rounded lesson plan, pupils read and summarize articles about the gender pay gap and...

Don't copy me. Scholars prepare to dig in with an introduction to their research folder and a discussion about plagiarism. They then review the meanings of harmful and beneficial and how the words apply to the use of DDT. They finish the...

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...

Research the lives of famous women in this social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use various sources to research a famous woman and create a presentation about the accomplishments of the woman. They can find the central idea throughout...

Understanding plagiarism is the goal of this instructional activity. After reading the two definitions of plagiarism listed on the sheet, class members decide whether the eight listed scenarios constitute plagiarism. Their responses are...

Students investigate the customs and habits of other cultures by reading letters from a Peace Corps Volunteer.  In this global customs lesson, students discuss how analyzing a culture is similar to analyzing art, no two people see...

Convey how to determine appropriate and credible online sources with a series of three lessons. After completing the lessons, class members will know what kinds of sources to use, how to identify credible sources, and how tone and style...

Once you've entered effective search terms, how do you evaluate the results of your search? Through the presentation and activities included here, pupils will examine results pages and determine what guiding information is provided. By...

What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.

Sixth graders investigate how the web works and how to search effectively. In this Internet use lesson, 6th graders brainstorm positive and negative experiences they have had while on the Internet. Students view two web sites to learn...

Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...

Eighth graders explore reference materials and then complete a research project.  In this research project lesson, 8th graders choose the best reference source to use. Students learn to correctly site sources for their project....