Students identify and clarify a problem, issue or inquiry, locate and record information from a variety of sources and identify alternative interpretations from specific historical and contemporary sources. They asses at least two...

Young scholars must develop full comprehension by being able to summarize and focus on the main points of a passage. They learn the techinque of summarization in this lesson. The three steps taught are picking out important ideas,...

Fourth graders work individually or in a small group to (1) read a nonfictional selection, (2) identify main idea and details, (3) identify the author's purpose, and (4) practice test-taking strategies.

For this rock and mineral worksheet, middle schoolers will graphically organize the main idea of what a rock is and then add details on how people use rocks by filling in the seven blanks.

The strategies associated with Reciprocal Reading are outlined in this language arts presentation. Pupils discover what it means to be the questioner, the summarizer, the predictor, and the clarifier. All four strategies lead to...

Phrenology, the belief that parts of your brain control certain aspects of your personality, is described in Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. While we now know much more about the brain, learners use this...

Growing writers explore what it takes to develop and support a thesis statement with pre-fabricated ideas provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Learners take notes on what makes a thesis statement and a topic sentence, and...

What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a...

Students, while using the strategy of identifying the main idea and supporting details, explore the three nonfiction selections of the lost worlds of Machu Picchu high in the Andes Mountains, Great Zimbabwe, and Anasazi. In addition,...

Students research hot-ballooning using Internet resources including an around-the-world balloon flight. They determine fact from opinion, examine point of view, and determine main idea, and details. They write a journal entry taking the...

Middle schoolers read text to determine main idea and supporting details and facts. They use the shell web links to inquire about the various types of shells. Students use Inspiration templates to make a mobile about shells.

Second graders, while reading and discussing the book, "The Best Older Sister," by Sook Nyul Choi, practices predicting the meaning of a passage based on its title and illustrations. They experience determining the main idea from text...

Students brainstorm all the possible scenarios that would help them tell a story in detail with the whole class and with partners. They create web outlines to create a name story and then illustrate it with creative grammar usage and...

Students examine the steps of summarizing text. They silently read an article, then read and discuss the steps to summarizing a passage. Students then write a summary of the article they read, and as a class discuss the main idea,...

Each presidential election year, the debate about the electoral college rages. Michael C. Maibach's "A Defense of the Electoral College" offers young political scientists an opportunity to examine a reasoned argument for why the...

In this thematic web worksheet, students fill in the graphic organizer with the main idea in the center and the details around it. Students complete 7 sections.

What's next? Once seniors have completed a job exploration project (or any project for that matter) they prepare a speech for judges in which they describe their project, reflect on what have learned about the subject, and what they...

When it comes to the law, is justice always served? Teach scholars about how law sometimes enables prejudice of entire groups of people with a unit on World War II that includes a warm-up activity, analysis of primary sources,...

Class members listen to a masterful reading of Act 1, Scene 1, lines 203-236 of Romeo and Juliet and then break into groups to examine how Shakespeare uses figurative language to develop Romeo's idealized concept of beauty.

The Haitian Revolution takes center stage as class members analyze a passage from Sugar Changed the World and consider how the authors select, present, and organize events to show how the tensions between the concerns for freedom and...

Dating in America is the subject of a focused listening exercised that could be used with language learners as well as native English speakers. The richly detailed packet includes a writing assignment, supplemental exercises, vocabulary...

Young scholars recognize the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. In this genre study activity, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Young scholars listen to a read aloud and vote whether the text...

Off to Adventure! is the theme of an English language arts unit comprised of a variety of challenge activities. Scholars enhance skills and reinforce concepts by taking part in a grand book discussion, giving an oral...