Ninth graders continue to work on their research papers including to credit and cite all resources used, incorporate a style manual, electronic databases, online resources as well as a Works Cited page. In addition, they orally present...

A detailed overview of plagiarism and citations. This 33-slide presentation is broken into three sections: a discussion of plagiarism, various examples of in-text and work cited citations, and a short, interactive quiz. Although the...

Break an article down with a SOAPSTone chart. Class members determine the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone. The chart includes a question for each of these elements, provides some clarifying text for each, and...

Use this economic activity to focus on writing summaries of informational text. First, middle schoolers define common economic terms used to describe news about the economy. They closely read news about the federal budget deficit and...

Study opposing viewpoints with this lesson plan, which examines President Bush's September 2004 address at the United Nations. Middle schoolers study the text of the address, and then stage formal debates arguing for or against the...

How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers...

How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...

Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...

If you are reading works by Walter Dean Myers in your class, this resource might be worth a look. Included here are activities and discussion questions for Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary, Somewhere in the Darkness, Scorpions, Fallen...

What is the Nobel Peace Prize? After they establish criteria for great leadership, secondary learners read a New York Times article about President Jimmy Carter's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Individuals research the...

There’s no such thing as a free economics course, but here's a resource that is as close as you can get. Drawing on the expertise of a textbook, augmented by input from higher education economics instructors, a helpful eBook presents a...

Robert Hayden's poem "Those Winter Sundays" serves as the anchor text in a five-part lesson that takes the mystery out of poetry analysis by modeling explicit strategies for pupils to employ to conduct a close reading of a poem. After...

Though this assignment may be thought madness, there is an actual method. Scholars perform a close reading of the original text of the soliloquies in Hamlet and modern translations to ensure they understand the speeches. They then select...

They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...

Fifth graders explore the Adventures of Don Quixote in a four-week language arts unit. Scholars listen to and discuss a new chapter each day as well as examine vocabulary and practice word work including suffixes, subject-verb agreement,...

Young scholars, in pairs, research a prominent author and design a presentation poster for the rest of the class. They complete a Works Cited page for their presentation, as well.

The teacher doesn't always have to be the expert in the classroom. The first in a series of three supplementary activities Nature: Friend or Foe uses hands-on research tasks and projects to enhance readers' understanding of non-fiction...

This 54-slide PowerPoint outlines the significant events in the history of Colonial North America, beginning in 1603 with the ascendance of James I to the throne of England. Designed to accompany a lecture on this time period, the...

What a creative and engaging project to incorporate into your studies of the 1920s! Your young historians will work in groups to design a magazine discussing the political and cultural topics of the decade, each member writing one...

Students participate in a guide close reading of the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet. They write a prologue sonnet to another piece of literature they have read.

Students look closely at the text of "Othello." They use an online dictionary, and use various search engines. Students use an online Shakespeare concordance and make intelligent decisions about character. They write an intelligent...

Young scholars participate in an online scavenger hunt using the parts of a book to locate information. In this reference materials lesson, students locate the title, subtitle, table of contents and glossary. Young scholars...

What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...