Engage your middle schoolers with Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous poem that begins, "First they came for the communists." Now that you have their attention, send learners to the various work stations you created to have them explore...

Building on prior knowledge of the pervious lesson in the series, pupils explain the previous lesson to each other. Then they write a simple guide for a young child to read on the same topic. 

Take a look at the world through my eyes. Readers begin to understand the techniques Du Bois uses to advance his point of view in the fifth paragraph of the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." They complete a Rhetorical Impact Tracking...

Students read about and research the Holocaust using the Internet. They write poetry about an image of their choice and create a digital movie of their poetry readings.

Students research the Internet, read designated books and selection, participate in discussions and write short reports while completing this series of lessons about slavery and the Underground Railroad. As a final project, they design a...

The blanket being analyzed here seems simple and plain, but it reflects the culture and geography of the people who made it. Learners critically examine the influence geography and culture had on the creation of the blanket and on...

Eighth graders explore the major religions of the world. In this religion lesson plan, 8th graders create a foldable with the characteristics of the religions to study. Students watch videos, PowerPoint slides and look at pictures from...

Bring multi-cultural experiences and literature into your language arts class with this instructional activity. Here, young readers explore the points of view of first and second-generation Asian immigrants with a list of various fiction...

Second graders read and discuss the folktale "The Drum" from India. They also answer story comprehension questions, complete an adjectives and verb worksheet, and label a map of India. Students sequence events from the story and make...

The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression....

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...

Rather than waiting for the world to change, encourage your class members to become agents of change with a project that asks groups to select an issue found in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America....

The Hunger Games. Maximum Ride. Why is so much of young adult literature so dark? What is the appeal of dystopian literature to young readers? The six activities in this resource ask kids to reflect on some of the reasons this genre has...

A thorough and well-designed resource for older learners, this lesson focuses on Chaucer's character the Wife of Bath from his classic novel, The Canterbury Tales. As a way of understanding Chaucer's complex characterization and...

Can beautiful words change the world? Literary scholars discover how to paint their visions of change using poetry in a series of three workshops. Each independent topic gives participants a chance to examine their feelings about...

More than half the world's population eats rice as a daily staple ... imagine if that rice could prevent illness. Scientists genetically engineered rice to include vitamin A for just that purpose. However, room for debate still exists....

Perfect for establishing classroom protocols, this activity gets even the youngest learners thinking about rules and their consequences. The lesson begins with a discussion and a reading of the poem Humpty Dumpty that gets...

As part of the introduction to Edward Bloor's Tangerine, class members generate a KWHL chart listing what they know, what they want find out, how they plan to find this information, and what they have learned or still want to learn.

Let's go to the zoo! Take a pretend trip to the zoo with a lesson plan about animals that live at the zoo. Kids sing, match animals, practice animal sounds, and read about Sammy the Snake's birthday party.

There are so many fascinating topics and concepts to learn about in the world. But where do you start? Begin formulating questions for an argumentative research paper with a guided practice lesson plan. After coming up with three...

Class members compare the ways the subject of immigration is treated in The Tempest, Act I, scene ii, Act II, scene i and Act III, scene ii with patterns in American history. After tracing their own family’s journey, a series of...

Gradually build understanding of author's point of view through a scaffolded set of exercises. Moving from direct instruction, to collaborative work, and eventually to independent practice, these steps will assist your class in...

Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...

Students examine Woodrow Wilson's ideas for peace and the League of Nations. They examine how he garnered supported of it by looking at images and discussing their context.