What kind of text features help children build a strong vocabulary? Class members use text features such as headers to unpack new vocabulary words. They create vocabulary journals in which they will write what they think the definition...

The effect of cultural beliefs on the progress and industrialization of a society is an interesting idea to consider, and this is certainly true in this lesson on feudal Japan. Your young historians will read informational texts on...

How is religious freedom connected to the conflict between China and Tibet? After reading an online passage of background information, your learners will divide into groups and both read and view an interview with the Dalai Lama. They...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...

Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...

Those in positions of authority don't always have the best interest of their people in mind. As part of a sample assessment question, readers must consider how works of literature they read apply to a quote from Edmund Burke—"The greater...

Reflect on your reading with a book review form. After finishing a novel or short story, kids choose the correct genre and discuss their favorite part. They also decide which part they would change, and whether or not they would...

Do your class members ever focus too much on graphics or animations when designing a PowerPoint presentation? Have you ever come across a presentation filled with great information, but found it difficult to read because of color choices...

A scripted lesson can be a big help for new teachers. This fully scripted three-day learning activity provides teachers with the means to demonstrate how to compare and contrast two topics in two texts. Learners will work as a class to...

To demonstrate their understanding of a main idea and of text structures, learners read six paragraphs, draft a sentence explaining the main idea of the passage, create a title for the passage, and form a graphic organizer that...

Expand your pupils' understanding of the short story genre with a study of John Updike and his story "A&P." This lesson, the fourth in a series of fourteen, invites learners to examine literary terms and read and discuss the story....

Class members are presented with the image of a painting and asked to record their first impressions and analysis. They then research the time period in which it was painted and discuss how their research impacted their first impression...

Need a comprehensive test about global history and geography? Look no further!  Test young historians' understanding of how to use primary sources to formulate answers with an assessment that uses multiple-choice questions that...

The life of a tree is the focus of a packet consisting of several activities all covering a different subject. Second graders measure shadows, make pinecone critters, write poems, count rings, complete a word search, play tree tag, and...

Explore a real world use of poetry with your class! Young language arts pupils consider the concept of advocacy and how journalism, photography, and poetry can raise awareness for a cause. They read several poems about individuals...

Inform your class about foreign policy during the Reagan administration. The resource includes a reading passage that gives an overview of foreign policy decisions made during the Reagan administration and nine questions for pupils to...

Show your scholars that they make inferences every day and might not even know it. Through scaffolded instruction, they break down the process of drawing information from context. Using example sentences and didactic questioning,...

Wrap up your literary analysis unit with a discussion activity as tenth graders prepare for an end-of-unit assessment. After they have read and annotated Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His Love," Sir Walter Raleigh's...

Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss with a lesson that features the memorable tale of The Lorax. After listening to a riveting read-aloud, scholars take part in a grand conversation about the story and environment. Then...

Celebrate the beauty of trees with a packet full of activities designed to help kindergarteners get to know about their leafy nature friends. Covering a variety of subjects, scholars go on a nature hike, read Shel Silverstein's The...

Joseph Bruchac's Code Talker tells the remarkable story of Navajo Marines' role in battles of the Pacific Theater during World War II. As scholars read the novel, they also engage in activities that expand their knowledge of Navajo...

The Core Knowledge Foundation offers this teacher guide to Robert Louis Stevenson's gothic novel about the duality of humankind. The 128-page guide includes a unit introduction, unit calendar, nine scripted lesson plans, assessments with...

After reading a series of fictitious letters that represent actual events during the time period, young historians craft a small town newsletter to explain the causes of the Great Depression.

How many planets can you name? Did you get all 13 in our solar system, including the dwarf planets, or were you surprised when you read there are 13 planets? The instructional activity helps scholars understand the scale of the universe...