Are hand sanitizers good for you? What about the environment? Research the science behind commonly used cold medicines. The class reads an article, creates a product poster, and conducts independent research on product claims made by...

While many often associate Ben Franklin with his kite electricity experiments, budding historians find out he contributed much more. They discover Franklin's political savvy by examining primary sources in the informative installment of...

Students investigate the hardships and difficulties that the Continental army faced in the early years of the American War for independence. the battles of Lexington and concord and the expectations of the Continental Army forms the...

Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one lesson intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read a nonfiction...

Students are focused on the big question: What makes a population grow and how could that growth stop? They use these concepts to help answer the big question: carry capacity, density dependent v. density, independent factors, predation...

Use picture cues as a tool in order to create meaning along with text. With a wordless comic, young illustrators discuss the main idea and character traits, and independently write a summary for a page of a wordless comic. This strategy...

Have your class examine the characteristics of various writing genres using the Writing with Writers online project. Detailed instructions for how to introduce, discuss, and develop a piece of writing for each genre are included. Class...

Students investigate why and how certain historical figures became famous in relation to the Texas Revolution. They view and discuss a variety of images, then in small groups record the names of individuals involved in the Texas...

A series of independent learning activities teaches learners about global warming as it relates to economics and industrialization. The culminating project requires them to create a multimedia presentation identifying the problems,...

Teach your class about various approaches to solving the problem of maximizing the area of a rectangle space with a fixed perimeter in the context of a farmer's dog pen. Then, they complete a worksheet independently to summarize the...

Have the kids choose a fairy tale and read it independently. Then model writing a conclusion for a narrative piece. They create storyboards based on the chosen plot, then write a new conclusion.

Working with thermometers, sixth graders compare the value of positive and negative numbers. Plenty of teacher suggestions and independent practice ideas are presented. This website links to two more parts in this first of three integer...

Develop mental math addition skills by breaking apart addends into 10s and extras. Worksheet has problem solving steps at the top of the page, and 8 practice exercises that lead to increasing independence using the process. 

In this learning the number 9 activity, students practice their printing skills as they word nine on the activity and then practice writing it independently on the lines provided. Students also circle 9 vacuums.

We've talked a lot about energy, but where does energy come from? Pupils brainstorm different energy sources through a class discussion to kick off the 14th installment of a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit. They then research...

Practice sequencing as a comprehension strategy. Have your class listen to The Mitten by Jan Brett and participate in guided practice with sequencing events. Then divide everyone into three groups based on understanding for...

Use a traffic light to model a very basic paragraph plan. The Go, or topic sentence, is written in green and expresses an opinion about the topic. Information that supports the opinion of the Go sentence is written in yellow and the...

"O pun" the door on this activity. Have your pupils compare the puns and word play in scenes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night to those in Gary Blackwood’s The Shakespeare Stealer. Warm up and introductory activities, as well as...

Working independently or in teams, your class practices connecting graphs, formulas and words. This lesson includes a guided discussion about distance vs. time graphs and looking at how velocity changes over time.  

Explore the world of fractions by using pattern blocks to show how different shapes can divide a hexagon. Elementary schoolers work in groups to complete these problems and to answer questions. Later, they work complete an independent...

Young learners determine the place value of a digit in a given number.  They review 10s and 1s place value by participating in activities using unit blocks. Some excellent independent practice is built in to this plan. A written...

Persuasion, when used effectively, is a powerful and effective tool. In groups, young writers develop a persuasive letter about something that they would like their parents to allow them to do. Then, independently, they use proper...

Identify figurative language in sentences that have been pulled out of a text. Looking at the sentence independently, can you tell which technique is being used? How do you know? Ninth graders look at 10 sentences that show simile,...

Interactive is the way to go! Type, click, and answer is what your class will do as they work through 4 different activities which provide practice using the auxiliary verbs have and has. Use this activity at an independent work station,...