Fifth graders explore mystery stories.  In this reading and writing instructional activity, 5th graders complete a planning guide for an original mystery.  Students use the writing process to create a mystery story. 

Students explore the concept of mysteries.  In this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book.  Students also...

Young journalists try their hand at writing a news report. They go through the process of developing ideas, and collecting and organizing their information. The headline everyone works with is, "Mystery Disappearance of English Teacher:...

The motto for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry warns that one should never tickle a sleeping dragon, but learners will definitely be tickled by the activities in a packet of materials designed to accompany a reading of the...

Students use their five senses to describe what's in a mystery bag. In this senses lesson, students use a graphic organizer to collect words for a sensory poem.

Students read Chasing Vermeer and relate the book to the author .  In this writing process instructional activity, students view Blue's Photo Album and see how the author writes and revises her work. Students discuss the process...

Students develop an understanding of our planet as a system by designing a very-long-duration space mission in which the life-support system is patterned after that of earth.

MacGillivray Freeman's film Arabia presents viewers with remarkable images and insights into this ancient and mysterious land. An educator's guide is designed to provided teachers with the materials they need to support a...

Young scholars develop a definition of extinction.  For this extinction lesson, students listen to What Happened to Dinosaurs? Young scholars research and debate theories of what happened to dinosaurs.  Students present...

High schoolers explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.

View, read and discuss Conan Doyle's tale, "The Hound of Baskersvilles," and compare and contrast the story with the film. Explore the genres and elements of mystery and suspense that are present, and analyze characters, especially...

This resource is a children's literature web guide.

For teaching the work of Tim O'Brien, this site features lesson plans, overviews, notes, and other resources to help students reading The Things They Carried, Ambush, Going After Cacciato, If I Die in a Combat Zone, and so on.

What do you know about the life and work of Lois Duncan? This site features links to several of her books that contain lesson plans, teaching guides and more.