Students study geography. In this Arizona maps lesson, students develop their map reading skills. They have class discussions and work independently with various copies of Arizona maps to practice those skills. This lesson mentions...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package of lessons includes nine lessons from the American Literature series, each covering a different reading selection about a man making a key life decision. Pre-reading...

Students explore the ways science is presented in a children's television show. Students conduct internet research, and then create and design a skit that highlights the problem-solving process.

Students write an essay describing the Curtis Center and what they learned there. In this descriptive writing essay, students discuss the five paragraph essay and review sensory discoveries from their trip. Students draft an outline and...

This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...

Get your writers ready to compose a constructed response essay in response to either an informational or fictional text. Pupils note down the big idea they wish to address as well as up to nine examples from the text that they wish to...

All the Common Core standards are important, but they all build off the ability to cite textual evidence to support analysis. See how to scaffold this standard into three steps of development, along with assessment ideas with the ideas...

Investigate letters to the editor and their persuasive qualities. Break your class into reading groups and give each one a different article. As they read, they complete a graphic organizer to record their thoughts and opinions. There is...

Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...

Students examine the case of a map making expedition. In groups, they read a case study on "The Lost Gorge" in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. They examine maps and determine where the error in the map-making occured to end...

students examine the historical, political, religious and culture aspects of the Renaissance. Using this information, they read "Galileo" by Bertolt Brecht. They use the internet to research a specific event of the time period and come...

Learners read and compare two selections by two different authors with the theme man vs. nature. They complete a literary analysis paper comparing and contrasting the author's treatment of the topic with emphasis on setting, historical...

A simple, yet poignant lesson gets teens reading ads for clinical trials and discussing the requirements for participation. At home, they peruse the newspaper to find current examples of similar advertisements. The purpose of this lesson...

What do astronauts eat in outer space? Kids can read an informational passage to learn about space food. The passage includes prompts that have learners identify the main idea and key details, then write a paragraph summarizing the text....

Explore newspapers as a form of print media. They examine headlines from newspapers and infer meanings of the headlines. They skim articles for information and exchange articles between groups. They complete charts while skimming the...

Primary source research, secondary source readings, and discussion provide the understanding necessary for students to create a colonial persona, and simulate a situation appropriate for this person, time, and place. While the lesson...

Students exoplore the world of imaginary creatures (dragons, unicorns, etc.) They discuss the creature's special attributes and read stories about them. They create their own magical creatures in the form of puppets.

Make a study of Timothy and his development as a character over the course of the first half or so of The Cay. This idea focuses in particular on chapters 10 through 12. Learners start out by working on double-entry journals created in...

Make a prototype of a game based on cell biology. Researching game design and working in groups to create a game will activate knowledge of cell biology. The review task will help students learning as they test out the games and their...

Read to learn! Here is a one-page informational passage about inhabitants of Phoenix, Arizona. Learners will read to make logical inferences and determine the central idea or theme. Prompts ask the class to identify the main idea and...

Does your class know the history behind today's telephone? They will after reading a very interesting one-page informational passage. They'll learn all about the way phones have progressed to the amazing devices they've become as they...

Young scholars explore ocean creatures. In this crustacean lesson, students determine how Black Nerite snails and Sally Light-foot crabs have adapted to their ocean habitats. Young scholars complete diagrams and hypothesize about the...

Students research Abraham Lincoln in a variety of ways. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson plan, students use primary sources, vocabulary activities, books, and more to research and learn about Abraham Lincoln.

Eighth graders explore the persecution of the Jews during Hitler's leadership of Germany in 1938.