Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution becomes the text for an online newspaper activity. Young journalists craft news, features, obituary, and opinion articles based on the characters and events in the play.

To war! To war! Every nation in the history of the world has had to deal with warfare on some level. Scholars go through a series of activities and discussions surrounding the development of the Constitution to help them better...

Fourth graders build language skills in the context of creating a classroom magzine. They participate in activities which help students communitcate ideas and information for a variety of purposes and for specific audiences using the...

Should college admissions decisions be based on whether whose family members attended? Secondary students read and respond to a New York Times article on the issue of 'legacy preferences' in college admissions. Following class...

Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...

As an example of nature's water filtering system, young ecologists conduct an experiment in the lab. They construct a funnel out of a plastic bottle, fill it with specified layers of materials that simulate layers of soil, then run muddy...

Students explore acrostic poems. In this interactive poetry lesson, students visit the ReadWriteThink.org website to view characteristics and samples of acrostic poems. Students develop acrostic poems by using the interactive site.

What are superdelegates? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to explore this informal term with your scholars. Background information gives brief context to help high schoolers examine the featured cartoon, and three talking...

Dive into classical Chinese literature with this packet. Provided first is a comprehensive summary and a half-page long historical context of Water Margin. As your class reads the section entitled "Wu Sung Fights the Tiger," pose the...

Let your class voice their opinions with a group debate activity. Before reading John Milton's Paradise Lost, they work in small groups in assigned roles to form a position about authority and rebellion, comparing a...

Accompany The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis with this activity worksheet. Spark a discussion about the story's characters' decision making skills while making inferences and allow learners to connect personally by...

Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...

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.

After identifying the parts of a persuasive piece of writing, young writers explore different prewriting activities for the persuasive essay. They have the option to write a news article, personal narrative, or persuasive essay to...

Learning to support your opinions, debate, build arguments, and effectively respect another's point of view are vital skills. Learners work through a series of topics to practice discussion engagement and verbal communication.

What would your class do if a police officer arrested a student in class? This is exactly the anticipatory set that gets students engaged in a unit on the legal system. The plan is to get the officer to simulate an arrest, and then guest...

Start a conversation to convey proper English grammar. In groups pupils voice their opinion, have well supported disagreements, and explain why they feel as they do. This lesson plan builds academic discussion skills and fosters a...

Prior to reading Flipped, Wendelin Van Draanen’s young adult novel about teen romance, class members engage in an anticipation guide activity. Individuals post their responses to a series of prompts, and after reading all the responses,...

“What does it mean to be patriotic?” “Should grades factor in to a student’s eligibility for extracurricular activities?” Class members complete an anticipation guide that asks them to respond to a series of statements that highlight...

Words carry baggage. Class members are asked to consider the weight of words in an exercise that contrasts the word choices in two versions of the same event. Consider following the exercise with an activity in which pairs craft positive...

Studentsare introduced to the idea that people have rights. They voice opinions about whether children should have special rights and be treated differently then adults. The main purpose of the activity is to get students thinking and...

Examine the idea of perpetual youth and immortality while you read Nathaniel Hawthorne's Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Some links work to direct your learners to information about the Fountain of Youth. Using this information, scholars...

Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.

Students read a book that is recommended on the Internet, then write their appreciation of what they have read. They send their opinion about others' written appreciation through the e-mail.