Students make a terrarium from common household items that are brought to class. They can be creative with materials but the method is set for how the mini-lab is set up. Students read a book about an ecosystem to stimulate the topic for...

Students use self-correcting strategies if they are stuck on a word in a simple sentence. In this reading lesson plan, students look at the covers of many books, and use the picture on the cover to help them figure out what the title...

Students explore patterns in words and how to make new words by adding or changing the sequence of letters

Chapter nine of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath provides the text for an exercise that asks readers to think deeply about the items the Joads left behind and what these items might represent.

Craft your own fairy tale based on Momotaro, a Japanese story referenced in Kyoko Mori's Shuzuko's Daughter. A list of nouns guide learners in writing their own story, and predicting what might happen in the novel.

Solving a murder is like isolating a variable. Using a video on a murder mystery, the narrator introduces the idea of solving a literal equation for one variable. After solving several equations, the class comes up with a set of...

Readers of Tunes for Bears to Dance to are asked to write a personal letter to Henry, the main character in Robert Cormier's young adult novel, offering Henry advice about whether he should do as Mr. Hairston wants.

After reading and discussing chapter 10 of Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida with a partner, individuals write about a time they had to exhibit real courage.

Seventh graders create and perform a skit that demonstrates their conflict resolution skills. They begin by examining the process of crafting a performance and review what they have learned about conflict resolution. Next, they...

Class groups bring feeling words alive by creating a poster that illustrates with images and colors, but not words, the feeling conjured by the word. The posters are then combined into a mural for the classroom wall.

A Reading Adventure Pack invites scholars to start gardening. Following a reading of two books—fiction and nonfiction—young green thumbs repurpose food containers to grow an herb garden in their kitchen, plant seeds in starter pots out...

Looking to set up literature circles in your class? Use these materials to support pupils when they meet in groups. Pupils take on various roles over the course of reading and meet with their groups to share the work they have done on...

There isn't a more popular geometry formula than the Pythagorean Theorem! Learners understand the special side relationships in a right triangle. They use the Pythagorean Theorem to find missing sides and to solve problems. They begin...

A Reading Adventure Pack explores the night sky. Reading Her Seven Brothers by Paul Goble and Find the Constellations by H.A. Rey begin the learning experience. Scholars craft a night sky mobile, go stargazing, and write a mythical story...

Young scholars practice read aloud comprehension strategies. In this literacy comprehension lesson, students listen to Tomas and the Library Lady, stopping to discuss with a partner aspects of the story suggested by the teacher. Young...

In this addition learning exercise, students answer 10 fill in the blank questions where they rewrite number sentences to use the making ten strategy. Then students use the answers to solve a connect the dot puzzle.

Examine multiple ways to solve algebraic equations. Pupils will generate a problem solving strategy that addresses the prompt given by the teacher. They will then share their problem solving strategy with the class. Graphic organizers,...

Pupils use the problem solving strategy of guess and check to investigate math word problems. They determine which problem solving strategy or strategies would work best in problem situations.

First graders draw pictures of decisions they make.

Prejudice? Religious intolerance? Political sedition? Class distinction? Plight of women? Voltaire satire, anyone? A literary newspaper offers an opportunity for readers of Candide to make text-to-self and text-to-world connections as...

Have your class talk about the importance of the rainforest and the products that come from it. Learners watch a video showing the path of chocolate from the rainforest to the supermarket. They discuss how the rainforest and...

Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...

A short video introduces place value in addition and subtraction. As a class, your students identify all even numbers up to one hundred and explain the pattern. They use addition strategies to fill in the missing numbers on the number grid.