Have you ever lost someone? Middle and high school learners journal about a time they experienced the loss of someone through death, divorce, moving, or another type of change. They share their responses and discuss an article relating...

Research current and proposed peace talks around the world with this New York Times lesson, Using the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria as a starting point, middle schoolers create a news program on the subject. They propose a future...

Students investigate historical figures and how they play a role in tourism by reading and discussing the article "When Robin Hood Supped, Was it Yorkshire Pudding?" In groups, students investigate issues related in the article in...

Students describe to a partner theater experiences they have had in their lives that were memorable, and analyze why. They study about one director's original artistic choices for staging Shakespeare by reading and discussing "Nature's a...

Middle schoolers read two articles about the same event: "Plane from J.F.K Crashes off Canada" from the New York Times and "No Survivors from Crash of Swissair Jetliner Off Nova Scotia" from the Associated Press. They then compare the...

Using an article from The New York Times, students answer discussion questions about gun control. They are divided into four groups to research different standpoints on gun control, including the Executive Office, Congress, Gun...

Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Students explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...

The New York Times article “Lessons in Internet Plagiarism,” launches a look at how the Internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism. The richly detailed lesson includes warm-up and wrap-up activities, discussion questions,...

Enter the fantastical world of  "Dungeons and Dragons" and other role-playing games with this lesson from The New York Times. Middle schoolers create the outline for a role-playing game based on their own community. Then, they...

Is the circus a form of theater? Read "A City of Clowns? What Else Is New?" to sway your class that a circus, is indeed, a theatrical performance. Critical thinkers compare/contrast various forms of theater and identify what makes the...

Have your class consider the issue of minors' accountability for their crimes. They discuss specific cases and the general issue of juvenile crime in round table discussions. Use this lesson to emphasize the rules and individual roles...

Students view a PowerPoint presentation on Robert Frost. They discuss Robert Frost's life and poetry as they view the presentation. Following the presentation students answer five short answer questions about Robert Frost.

Students research an artist of their choice on the internet. They are provided with questions (worksheets included with the lesson) as a guide for their research. Students choose an artwork by their artist to critique.

Share their opinions on the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. After reading an article, they evaluate the pros and cons of the databases and work in groups to answer discussion questions. They write a letter to a state...

Review comparatives and superlatives. Middle schoolers are introduced to modifiers such as Adjectives and Adverbs. They will talk about comparatives and superlatives such as: What makes them different, fo over rules for each type of...

Seventh graders use context clues to determine the figurative meaning of idioms and hyperboles. They practice writing idioms and hyperboles in sentences about real life situations around them. This instructional activity is a good way to...

Explore indirect and direct characterization and review rules of punctuation. After a review, middle schoolers complete a short worksheet, labeling sentences as an example of a direct or indirect characterization. In groups, they play a...

Students create a scrapbook of college student life during the 1960's using digital archives and Internet research. They read and discuss the article "What's the Matter With College?" and then compare college experience of today with...

This instructional activity asks young readers to predict what will happen to Harry Potter. While the question has been answered by the last book and film in the series, the concept and links provided by The New York Times’ Learning...

This nicely-done computer based letter writing worksheet has learners fill in each blank with a noun from the word bank. There are 20 sentences. They complete instructions for writing a letter using the computer, and use words such as...

Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...

High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a...

What would school be like if you couldn't teach lessons that require technology? Would it benefit the class? Would it hold them back? Have your learners read this article and answer the basic reading comprehension questions. Then have...

This New York Times Learning Network exercise provides a cloze exercise along with a word bank that readers can use to complete the passage about the television show, "The Voice" and Jermaine Paul, a recent winner. Another option is...