Readers use sticky notes and a Reading Closely: Guiding Questions handout to record the gist of a different section (pages 161-166) in The Omnivore’s Dilemma. They then pair up and share their ideas. To end the lesson, readers complete...

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...

Trench art is a nontraditional art form created by soldiers in trenches during wartime. Artist Allison Smith connects her art to the American Revolution and the question: "What are you fighting for?" Kids examine her art, how it connects...

Research the lives of famous women in this social studies lesson plan. Middle schoolers use various sources to research a famous woman and create a presentation about the accomplishments of the woman. They can find the central idea...

Illustrate the connection between using figurative language (specifically similes and metaphors) and creating poetry. First this worksheet reviews the definition for each, and then writers create the endings to two examples provided....

Students explore the book Billy Brown and the Belly Button Beastie. In this verb, onomatopoeia, and syllable lesson, students pantomime verbs, read onomatopoeia from the story and clap out syllables. Students unscramble sentences from...

Learners take a closer look at one journalist's work on UN Peacebuilding efforts in four African nations: Sierra Leone, Burundi, Central African Republic, and Guinea Bissau. They collaborate to define peacebuilding and discuss...

What makes you want to buy that new car? Or vote for that popular politician? Study the persuasive techniques commonly found in advertisements or argumentative writing, including repetition, exaggeration, and fact vs. opinion.

Design your unit on The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg with a concept and vocabulary analysis resource. It outlines the plot, literary elements, vocabulary issues, and any possible considerations for planning a differentiated...

Third graders continue to practice the close reading skills of capturing the gist and reading again for important details in the sixth lesson in a larger unit. This is a great beginning-of-the-year unit for establishing visible thinking...

Close your colonial America unit with a performance-based assessment. Class members will show their proficiency in several skills including using details to back up inferences, determining the meaning of words in context,...

Use the Peace Corps to explore a different place and different perspectives. Your class reads the personal narrative "Cross-Cultural Dialogue" by Roz Wollmering, completing an attached story frame sheet in preparation for a class...

The most effective way to support an argument is with clear and relevant evidence. As seventh graders read and listen to Cesar Chavez's California Commonwealth Club Address, they work through five sections of a textual analysis unit,...

Close the unit on Esperanza Rising with an in-class analytic essay on how Esperanza changes over the course of the novel. Writers can use any of their notes and work from the unit as well as their drafts of the first two paragraphs of...

When your class members have completed the novel Esperanza Rising, they will be ready to write an expository essay on how Esperanza responds to events and what this says about her character. Set your pupils up for success by...

Don't copy me. Scholars prepare to dig in with an introduction to their research folder and a discussion about plagiarism. They then review the meanings of harmful and beneficial and how the words apply to the use of DDT. They finish the...

Set a purpose for reading informational texts with this reading lesson. To find the central idea of a text, young readers turn titles and subtitles into questions to help them understand the text. They complete a T-chart for the lesson,...

Oftentimes, we jump to conclusions when we are given a limited amount of information. Take a look at reasonable conclusions with your communications studies class. If-clauses, dichotomous thinking, and assumptions are all covered with...

An array of reading comprehension, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary activities are at your fingertips with a language arts practice packet. Second, third, and fourth graders work on various skills using reading passages and word banks,...

Using the fourth of 20 lessons from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, scholars discuss refugees' challenges when finding a place to call home. They also read and answer text-based questions about the informational passage...

Scholars use a map of Asia to help them better understand the article "The Vietnam Wars," focusing on word meaning in the title and subtitle. Learners then use guided notes while reading the article and discuss their ideas with partners.

Scholars use their Golden Rule Note-catcher to examine passages from To Kill a Mockingbird. They then take a gallery walk to compare and contrast the quotes before sharing Think-Write-Pair-Share ideas on how the quotes demonstrate the...

Scholars examine how characters try to control one another in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They engage in a read-aloud and class discussion to iron out ideas. They also work in small groups to complete a note-catcher...

It's all in the technique. Scholars revisit the model narrative they covered in lesson four to analyze the author's writing techniques. Readers compare techniques they spot in the narrative to those in the essay rubric. They then work to...