Here's a fresh approach to the dreaded personal narrative required by most college applications. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the anchor text for a unit that, through modeling and guided practice exercises, encourages the...

Have you ever wanted to learn more about a subject after you finished a great book? Guide ninth graders through an inquiry-based research project as they finish the first chapter of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation. Having...

How do you build a polygon from an inequality? An engaging lesson challenges pupils to do just that. Building from the previous lesson in this series, learners write systems of inequalities to model rectangles, triangles, and even...

Part of being a strong researcher is knowing if you're headed in the right direction. Class members study their research frames formulated in the previous lessons of the unit and decide what parts of their inquiry paths need revision or...

Asking questions often leads to more questions. In a research instructional activity based on Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, ninth graders formulate claims based on the synthesis and analysis of each of their inquiry paths. A...

How do authors develop the main ideas in their writing? Pupils consider the question as they read and analyze paragraphs 27–31 from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice," in which Alvarez describes her decision to become a...

There are no wrong questions—or are there? Scholars learn to create practical questions to guide their research by first creating questions for their peers' research topics. They then vet classmates' questions before narrowing their...

Take it one step at a time. Scholars use the steps learned in lessons three through five to guide their independent research. While using the steps, learners complete research tool organizers to record their thinking, sources, and...

Learners prepare for the end-of-unit task by evaluating previous homework and writing sentences with parallel structure and various phrases. Scholars do this by closely examining E.B. White's Death of a Pig. They examine the structure of...

It's the halfway point! Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment to showcase their knowledge and skills so far. They create a graphic organizer, write an opinion about how their athlete created a legacy, and then record the best reasons...

Ten drama lessons are the perfect addition to your language arts or theater class. With a focus on script elements, plot development, and parts of a dramatic story, the lessons guide young playwrights through the steps of telling a story...

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

All things are subject to interpretation ... and that includes the Bill of Rights. Scholars work through activities to analyze and consider various interpretations and perspectives of the rights listed in the Constitution. They complete...

Can a gift be a burden? Scholars take a close look and write essays about characters that have gifts that can also be a disadvantage. Two other essays include discussion of how Nathaniel Hawthorne and Oliver Senior use literary...

Get those pencils sharpened—it's time to see what the class knows! Using the resource, scholars complete a four-part English examination. They read passages and respond to multiple-choice comprehension questions. They also complete two...

If, then, Else is not only a basic programming language command, it is also the basis for conditional statements used in writing. Middle schoolers try to craft conditional statements with a card sort activity and then collaborate on a...

Readers take all the information they gained from the last 19 lessons and complete an essay describing how King develops his purpose and claim in "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Pupils use a rubric and checklist to help guide their...

Does trauma have a lasting effect on people's lives? Scholars dive into the topic as they read paragraphs 9–11 of "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez, in which the author describes her family's return to the Dominican Republic....

Opposites attract. Scholars choose one of their claims from the previous lesson. They then must consider the opposite view of that claim and create a counterclaim, discussing it with classmates. To help guide the discussion, they use a...

Scholars work through an investigation process to narrow down a question to research. Learners begin by examining the research process, creating a portfolio, and vetting two or three possible topics. For extended work, they search for...

Researchers review how to create citations, find reliable sources, and paraphrase. Next, using guided task cards and their researcher's notebooks, they investigate the question they developed in instructional activity eight about the...

In conclusion ... this essay is the best! Scholars continue working on their painted essays by creating the conclusion. They work in groups to analyze the concluding paragraph in the model painted essay, The Electric Motor. After...

In this story-writing worksheet, students complete 20 blanks in two different graphic organizers. Each graphic organizer guides students through creating interesting story characters. 

Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...