The role of women in the early film industry, both on screen and behind the scenes, is the focus of a resource that asks class members to analyze movie posters and DVD covers from the 1910s and 1920s. Using examples drawn from the...

Start this lesson with a bang! The eighth in a 13-part series of lessons explains the origin of elements beginning with the Big Bang Theory. The reading describes the formation of elements hydrogen through uranium.

After reading "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," scholars discuss the emotions the events provoked in its characters. In pairs, writers compose a letter depending on the topic and style of their choice then reply to their own or a peer's...

Step into the shoes of the Oracle from the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, with this response to reading activity. After reading chapter nine, scholars answer questions from the Oracle's point...

Could you go without your cell phone for 48 hours? Pose this question to your class and then read the article provided here. Pupils mark the text and and complete a graphic organizer that requires the use of textual evidence.

Learn the ins and outs of hurricanes through a series of lessons answering, "What is a hurricane? How does it travel? How is one formed, measured, and named?" Information is presented through informative text and images, while...

What is Labor Day, and why do we celebrate it? Find out using an online scavenger hunt in which pupils search one website to locate information and answer a series of five short-answer questions. 

The California Gold Rush was not just an opportunity for the male gold miners sifting for shiny nuggets. Small groups read accounts of the ways women took advantage of the influx of workers to run hotels, bake pies, and wading out into...

A number doesn't have much meaning without a standard of reference. Learners read about the history of developing standards to measure chemical and physical properties and complete reading guides to process the information. They focus on...

Everyone knows a tree makes a sound when it falls, but what do we know about dying trees? Class members learn background information about Laurel wilt disease from a teacher-led presentation. Team members work with partners to read and...

What were living conditions like in the United States during The Great Depression, and how do those conditions compare with today? That's the question young scholars consider as they prepare to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men....

Begin your unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea with an anticipation guide. As kids read 12 statements that relate to the novel's themes, they decide whether each is true or false in their own opinion.

The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...

How do pupils relate paired passages to each other? Here's a resource that helps! The lesson includes a short story and a poem as a set of paired reading passages, followed by some analysis questions. It also includes an essay template...

Despite some advances made during the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, the period from 1887 through 1929, African Americans serving in Congress suffered severe setbacks due to Jim Crow Laws and voter suppression. Class members...

The answer is blowin' in the wind. Using the resource, scholars read and analyze a model essay about wind power. Next, they work in groups to write an introductory paragraph that expresses an opinion about the topic. 

The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...

Encourage your young citizens to make a difference. Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America as a starting point, class members watch documentaries, investigate issues, and then write letters to...

Based on your current level of human capital, how long would it take you to earn $1,000,000? What about your potential human capital? Learners explore the importance of education and experience when entering the workforce, and compare...

For classes tackling To Kill a Mockingbird, this lesson plan sets readers up for discussions or essay writing with questions and prompts. The prompts encourage individuals to explore beyond the novel itself, looking at...

How did Henry Ford change the world? One word: automobile. After reading a two-page passage about Henry Ford's contributions to society with the invention of the automobile, readers respond to a series of 10 reading comprehension...

Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final lesson in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the inside. Reflections...

Are the lessons of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar still applicable today? Explore themes, characterization, and plot structure with a thorough teacher's guide to the play. The resource covers the entire text and offers rigorous activities...

Both Athens and Sparta made choices to survive in ancient Greece. Those choices were, in essence, economic ones about how to direct resources. A Venn diagram activity and reading ask class members to examine the connection between...