Learners analyze recent media trends, and develop critical thinking skills by summarizing main ideas, extracting details, formulating opinions, drawing inferences, and comparing and contrasting attitudes. They also practice paraphrasing...

Now is the time to identify the great teachers in your school! Discuss the characteristics of persuasive writing and analyze an example. Then, each pupil chooses a teacher who they feel should be named teacher of the year. They plan and...

What evidence supports the big bang theory? Individuals analyze scholarly resources about the the theory and develop arguments backed by evidence. They brainstorm, share ideas, watch a video, and read articles to complete a graphic...

Make the thought process visible with a handy concept map organizer. As learners develop their main ideas in research, writing, or creative development, they can add details and like ideas to the worksheet as needed.

Review the paleolithic and neolithic time periods using this creative lesson. After a unit on Mesopotamia and the Stone Age, learners fill out a Venn diagram comparing the paleolithic and neolithic period, and write a paragraph...

Middle assessment for the Middle Ages. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment by reading and answering questions about three different text pertaining to the Middle Ages. Learners work independently on the assessment for the class period.

What does the term "lifestyle" mean? What constitutes an active lifestyle? What constitutes a healthy lifestyle? The main ideas in this lesson focus on what an active healthy lifestyle looks like. There are questions for discussion, and...

To take "the definitive portrait of that person in that moment" is the quest of photographer and hip-hop historian Jonathan Mannion. In this short video, Mannion details his dedication to his art and the process he goes through to catch...

Second graders write topic sentences. In this writing lesson plan, 2nd graders construct a paragraph consisting of a topic sentence and 2-4 additional sentences. Students analyze their writing and publish a final copy.

Should researchers be able to excavate, examine, and remove Native American artifacts from historic sites? Should companies be permitted to build on sacred Native American land? After watching West of the West's documentary, The Lone...

Discuss the importance of comprehension and the use of summarization with your class. Through guided practice, they follow three steps in finding and highlighting important information, deleting information that is not needed and...

Fourth graders locate information to describe what Indians gathered and how they sustained life. They use 5 resources, select a paragraph from each and state the main idea and supporting details.

Fourth graders identify the main idea of a sentence using the topic sentence and details of the paragraph. In this main idea lesson plan, 4th graders read paragraphs in the passage Hawaii Quakes, Then Shakes.

W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...

Students complete activities with the book Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. In this literature lesson, students read chapter one and brainstorm adjectives for the four main characters. They make a page of vocabulary words and...

In this comprehension skills instructional activity, students read the book A Birthday Mystery and complete comprehension activities. Students complete activities such as main idea, opinions, details, and drawing conclusions.

Although the ideas on how to implement the skill RI.9-10.2 are lacking, the assessment would work well for challenging learners to summarize, and identify the main ideas of presidential speeches that are of similar topics. One could use...

You can mix almost any subject with an arts curriculum. Find out how to use drama to find the main idea of a literary text. You'll read a story, and then learners will make tableaus showing what happened, or what they think will happen...

The lesson plan provides a richly detailed narrative and sample problems for teaching or reinforcing how to work with percentages. In particular, your audience will compute the costs per serving of food and simulate setting menu prices...

Help third graders focus on improving their speaking and listening skills with this Common Core checklist. By phrasing each standard as an I can statement, learners can monitor their progress toward clear, attainable goals.

All data is not created equal. Scholars examine the different types of studies and learn about the importance of randomization. They explore the meaning of causation and when it can be applied to data. 

Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...

In this language arts book 3 grade 4 writing skills worksheet, 4th graders read 2 passages, write short answers to 3 questions then write a short essay about one of the passages.

Fourth graders practice using effective listening skills as they listen to oral poetry readings.