Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...

Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...

How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...

Rhyme, rhythm, free verse, imagery: Do these words describe poetry, or jazz music? The answer is both! A resource explores these similarities as scholars watch a video, engage in discussion, read author biographies, write poetry and...

"I don't want change; I want swiss!" As Willy Loman bemoans in Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman, accepting change can be a real challenge. The aim of this session is to encourage class members to see the naturalness and...

Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking works of literature in the middle school curriculum. Round out your novel unit with a collection of reading activities, comprehension questions, memoir and...

Want your class to digest text more thoroughly? Middle schoolers learn about the digestive system in the lesson and reinforce informational text reading skills through a variety of strategies. They engage in a close reading...

Even those experienced teachers of Hamlet can find much to like in a guide that offers many fresh ideas for activities. Class members may take on the role of FBI profilers that investigate Claudius and Hamlet as murderers, or...

The Great Wall of China is a wonder of the world. Learners explore the history and construction of the incredible feat using both non-fiction and fictional works. The resource includes multi-day lesson plans that contains ideas for...

Are you looking for background information on Cervantes and his Don Quixote? How about a study guide and discussion questions or project ideas? Even journal prompts, tests, and quizzes? A 98-page teaching guide simplifies the quest with...

S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is the anchor text in a unit that asks readers to reflect on their own identity, their place in their family, in groups with which they identify, and in school. 

"People never notice anything." As part of their study of The Catcher in the Rye, class members adopt Holden Caulfield's approach and spend time as quiet observers of their surrounding, recording their observations/reflections in a...

The words of Henry David Thoreau on Civil Disobedience seem particularly relevant today, as are his writings and those of other transcendental thinkers who ask what it mean to live deliberately and what are the responsibilities of...

There's no need to run around trying to plan a unit for the book Maniac Magee, the work has already been done for you. Through a series of whole class, small group, and independent lessons and activities, students practice...

Students study immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century. In this immigration lesson plan, students participate in activities including creating maps, responding to non fiction text, memorizing and analyzing poetry, and...

Tenth graders read "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. In groups, they research the life and works of Morrison and read a speech by Sojouner Truth. Using the novel, they discuss the experiences of slaves and the effect of slavery on their...

Go beyond counting calories with a healthy eating unit that focuses on reading nutritional labels, making healthy choices, and incorporating fitness into daily life. After four lessons about the different ways kids can improve their...

Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...

Explore the life's work of one of the great children's authors using this ten-lesson author study unit. After first performing some whole-group research into the life of Cynthia Rylant, the class goes on to read six different...

Who am I? Who do I want to be? The fourth session in this SPECS health unit explores self-awareness. Class members are asked to reflect on how and why they adapt their behavior to different situations.

Developing close personal and romantic relationships requires its own set of skills. This session focuses on helping teens develop behaviors and strategies for dealing with romantic relationships, rather than on sharing personal...

Legal and illegal. Use and misuse. Risks and consequences. Myths and facts. Class members investigate the effects on the body of various drugs, including cannabis, nicotine, and alcohol.