Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

A photograph and a poem remind young people of the events of November 11, 2001. After examining Andrea Booher's photograph taken on September 13, 2001, and reading Lucille Clifton's poem "Tuesday 9/11/01", scholars compare their...

Fifty eye-catching pages contain six lessons about Roald Dahl's novel, Matilda. Each lesson has a theme and covers a different subject—literacy, social-emotional learning, science, and geography. Scholars analyze characters, examine...

Bridge cultural awareness, community, government, and art with an introspective and thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders become globally and socially aware as they analyze and explore the art of Jeremy Deller. They consider his images...

In this America Attacked: 9/11 worksheet, students read the book America Attacked: 9/11 and complete fact and opinion, character detail, and short answer question activities. Students complete 26 questions.

Address annotation, word choice, and tone in the same language arts instructional activity. Ninth graders read a section of Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" and track character development based on supporting...

Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

So much to teach, so little time. Keep track of phonics instruction with a guide that permits you to plan phonics lessons addressing 12 difference concepts, in four strands, in the handwriting, maintenance, instruction, and...

Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...

If you plan to utilize the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" in your classroom, consider incorporating media literacy and research skills. After (or while) learners view the series, they discuss ways information can differ from source...

Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...

Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...

Spark an animated debate in your class! Young adults consider some of the fads or trends that are prevalent at their school, as well as their own level of participation in them. Just how much of a role does popular culture play in their...

Most of us have heard of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But what about Claudette Colvin, Virginia Durr, Freedom Summer, or the Birmingham Children's Crusade? A five-lesson plan unit prompts class...

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

Does trauma have a lasting effect on people's lives? Scholars dive into the topic as they read paragraphs 9–11 of "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez, in which the author describes her family's return to the Dominican Republic....

Hamlet has an unusual take on the criminal justice system when he decides to determine his uncle's guilt by staging a play. With the resource, scholars continue analyzing Hamlet's third soliloquy from Act 2.2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet....

Asking questions often leads to more questions. In a research instructional activity based on Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation, ninth graders formulate claims based on the synthesis and analysis of each of their inquiry paths. A...

Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...

As first-year students continue to investigate how sugar changed the world, the focus shifts to a consideration of why people with limited job options take on dangerous or subjugating work. Class members read an opinion piece by Nicholas...

As the first in a two-part, end-of-unit assessment that encourages readers to synthesize the unit's main ideas, class members review their notes for each of the three texts they read and develop three open-ended discussion questions...

Building on the previous discussion of the supplemental reading article "Where Sweatshops Are a Dream," class members use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to identify the claims and evidence Nicholas Kristof uses to...

Here is lesson 9 in an extensive series on teaching and learning ASL. Discuss code switching, numerical incorporation, and noun based vocabulary. Then, click on the blue links to view ASL in action. Each link takes you to a printable...

Enhance language proficiency with a Special Friends themed English language development unit. Each lesson follows a listen, speak, move, and/or look routine that is guaranteed to get your scholars discussing topics such as animal...