Students create foam ink stamps.  In this Holocaust lesson, students discover the history of the Holocaust and why butterflies represented a symbol of hope during those times.  Students use BalsaFoam to carve out a butterfly...

Second graders read stories about relationships and record their thoughts using a "Before" and "After" organizer.

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...

Introduce your class to the characters from My Antonia by Willa Cather in a unique way. Given a hypothetical situation about an atomic bomb shelter and a list of character descriptions, pupils must decide which characters get to...

Prior to reading The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, spark engagement, and step into the shoes of Charlotte Doyle through this guided imagery activity focusing on adventure and the emotions that may be felt along...

Challenge your young readers with a passage about physical science. After reading about sound waves and electric currents, kids answer five reading comprehension questions about what they have read.

Prior to reading chapter 15 of the book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, examine the painting, Shipwrecked by Edward Moran, and respond to the feelings that arise within and how it relates to the characters of...

As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would...

Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...

Young historians discover the early people of the western hemisphere. The unit explores how the land changed, how it was used and homes of early Americans such as Incas, Mayans, Inuits, Aztecs, and Pueblos. Individuals also examine these...

Learners study the decisions and solutions involved in winning the right to vote. After reading background information on the fight for women's suffrage, including one woman's story, and its eventual success in the United States and...

Design a public information campaign to improve understanding of the coral reef crisis. Read about and discuss the biology and threats to the coral reef. The class creates a public information program about the problems facing the coral...

What are the most prominent symbols of the United States? Learn about the bald eagle, the American flag, and the Statue of Liberty in a reading comprehension activity that includes a short passage and five reflective questions.

Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The...

Jack the Ripper terrorized London in the late 1800s. An educator's guide for the novel The Name of the Star places the historical figure in a modern context. Readers complete a pre-reading activity before answering a series of discussion...

Analyzing historical legends is a fun way to develop critical-thinking skills. Pupils will use a graphic organizer to compare and contrast two historical legends relating to volcanoes. While this lesson focuses on the image of Crater...

Use this worksheet to help make explicit the connection between sentence structure, audience, and author's purpose. Readers track and find patterns in sentence structure in various nonfiction texts, and connect it to the purpose of...

First, next, and last, the elements of chronological order. In every story or text one can find a series of events that occur one after the other. To help learners with visual impairments conceptualize chronological order, this...

Learners brainstorm a list of things they already know about the history of Fairfax County, Virginia. After reading a primary source document, they discuss the similarities and differences between their prior knowledge and what they...

Learners research the history of paper money using the Internet in order to answer questions and create their own bills.

Have your class build their vocabulary bank by studying life science terms. Basic terms like organism, cell, unicellular, and vertebrate are included on the definition sheet provided. Demonstrate how to identify different life science...

Engage conversation and explore the journey as you challenge young readers to interpret the german folktale, "The Fisherman and His Wife" written by literary brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

In the hustle and bustle of life in the classroom, it's easy for teachers to lose track of the standards they have taught, and those that still need to be addressed. This Common Core checklist provides educators with an easy-to-use...