What is in a word? Scholars look closely at the words from a speech by Eleanor Roosevelt. They analyze how she supports a claim without debate and without rejecting others. Learners use jigsaw discussion, guided questions, and respond to...

When Macbeth says, "Nature seems dead," he uses personification. Using the resource, scholars complete a Quick Write to analyze the impact of figurative language on the mood of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Pupils also participate in an...

Madness, violence, despair—the titular character of Shakespeare's Macbeth is spiraling out of control. Pupils first explore the topic with a collaborative jigsaw discussion. At the end of the instructional activity, they write about how...

Put on a happy face. Using an interesting resource, pupils read an informational text about Hawaii's endangered Happy Face Spider. Next, they participate in a jigsaw discussion to find the gist of the article. 

Using the announcements of presidential candidacies, pupils consider how contenders make their initial arguments to the public. A worksheet helps structure collaborative work to analyze 10 video clips. Writing prompts allow for extension...

Help your learners truly understand the Emancipation Proclamation by asking them the put it into their own words. After reading the document out loud to the class, and briefly discussing the legal language, split your class into small...

How do you know what a character's personality is like if an author doesn't tell you? With a focus on character development in Esperanza Rising, pupils complete a jigsaw activity to analyze the actions of Mama, Abuelita, and Miguel. Once...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...

Readers of The Autobiography of Malcolm X continue their analysis of the methods Haley uses to show how Malcolm X is changing due to his exposure to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad.

Encourage peer collaboration and assist with the creation of visual aids to identify carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles as your class learns more about nature. They discuss relative information, create a visual aid...

Beware the bugs! Two activities engage high schoolers in the study of germs, what they are, what they do to the body, and what can be done to prevent them from spreading. After reading a series of related articles, groups create a...

Students recognize and name the main parts of a flower. In this life science instructional activity, the teacher leads a discussion about the parts of a plant, then students color and cut out the parts of a planet, then glue the parts...

How figurative language affects the tone and meaning in Chapter Three of Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy is the focus of a series of exercises that ask readers to locate, record, and analyze Curtis' word choices.

There was more than one Rosie the Riveter. To learn more about the contributions women made to the World War II war effort, groups become expert on different "Rosie" and share their findings in a Jigsaw activity. The lesson concludes...

How do governments differ in how they protect human rights? While the United States prides itself on its Bill of Rights, other countries have their own ways of protecting citizens' liberties. An interactive website, paired with...

What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...

Eleventh graders listen to a brief history lesson about the 40's and 50's mid-West America and the Migrant workers that worked the fields. Next, learners will read a short story written by Tomas Rivera (both in Spanish and English)....

The seventh instructional activity in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider whether or not an individual can overcome the worst thing they have ever done. Groups read different articles related to the question, share their...

Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...

Your young learners will delve into the language of primary source documents in order to identify the characteristics, benefits, and costs of nonviolence. The lesson includes a mix of activities, including an anticipatory activity,...

How does weather affect Earth? Learners understand the characteristics of water and make predictions about weather patterns. They recognize how water and weather affect rocks and minerals through erosion. They also learn about fossils...

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...

Introduce pupils to the work of Robert Boyle and his influence on medical practice through a series of informational texts and discussion questions.