Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

Shake up your lessons on earthquakes. A simple seismograph lets scholars record "earthquakes" in the classroom. These earthquakes occur when classmates drop balls from different heights. Young scientists measure these with seismographs...

How can prescription drugs be dangerous if they were prescribed by a doctor? Is it okay to share your prescription drugs with friends if they really need them? Clear up any common misconceptions about prescription drugs with a set of...

Water, water, everywhere — but will there be enough to drink? Check out these detailed lesson plans to meet NGSS water cycle and CCSS literacy standards in your science classroom. Learners do a close reading of a challenging, poetic text...

What is the difference between saber and conocer? Language learners sometimes have difficulty with these words because of their similar meaning. Clear up confusion with the information and presentation included here. The website and...

Learn about the characters of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a character biopoem. Readers fill in a poem format to detail the character traits of Winnie, Jesse, Miles, and Mae, and share their finished poems...

Guide multiplication lesson plan instruction with a formative assessment. Mathematicians are given two multiplication problems to solve and represent using the area model, equal groups, repeated addition, and word problems. Following the...

Put those old holiday lights to good use. Individuals use a section of ornamental lights to create electric circuits. If the lights glow, it's a success; otherwise, it's time to try again!

Find similarities in seemingly unlike organisms. The second instructional activity in a series of 12 builds the concept of a taxonomy and explores the use of a dichotomous key. Learners begin in part one by attempting to group a set of...

Following a reading and thorough discussion of books—Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott and The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons—scholars complete three activities. First, they use playdough or cookie dough to create...

Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...

The Common Core is intended to help all children meet high academic standards. Here is a Common Core designed lesson that is intended for learners with communication or language difficulties. The lesson is written in a narrative style...

Start a discussion about individual rights and responsibilities with your class. As they will find out there is a difference between a person's rights and their responsibilities. Included are four discussion questions, activity...

While many chemicals are used in biology class, many pupils don't understand the material safety data sheets. The lesson explains each part and the importance of understanding the forms. Young scientists use safety equipment to ensure...

Groups collect data describing the number of times a bag of microwave popcorn pops at given intervals. Participants discover that the data fits a normal curve and answer questions based on the distribution of this data.

What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and ...

This resource examines the present tense through several mediums. The information covered includes: regular present tense verbs, stem-changing present tense verbs, irregular present tense verbs, and use of the present tense. Included is...

Teaching young learners about similes is easy as pie with this primary grade language arts lesson. Following a class reading of the children's book, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, young readers learn the definition of a simile...

Close up your study of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a letter-writing assignment. Pupils prepare by journaling and sharing with a partner. They then compose letters that focus on a big idea from the...

Go beyond a traditional end-of-the-year survey and have your middle school pupils compile a portfolio of work illustrating their progression as a writer. 

Beneficial for beginning readers, struggling readers, and those in need of review, a set of language arts activities is a great addition to any foundational reading unit. Focusing on phonological awareness, fluency, instructional...

Swimming is more fun with quantities. The short assessment task encompasses finding the volume of a trapezoidal prism using an understanding of quantities. Individuals make a connection to the rate of which the pool is filled with a...

Take a walk on the wild side! Episode one of an eight-part series of interactive lessons regarding Gorongosa National Park invites learners to become a part of the citizen science community. Scholars read a brief overview of the trail...

To gain an understanding of the importance of professional references, class members engage in two projects. First, individuals examine an online review site (Yelp, for example), paying particular attention to the positive and negative...