Sorry, Charlie. Scholars take a close look at Apology by Plato. Activities analyzing the text help pupils understand, make, organize, and write about claims. Learners work in groups, complete claim tools, and evaluate thinking by filling...

How are animals classified? Scholars explore animal classification by observing non-living and living specimens. They learn how to organize animals into vertebrates and invertebrates and identify the five vertebrate groups: mammals,...

After reading Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower, pupils form opinions either for or against forgiveness as well as analyze Wiesenthal's choice about forgiving. Before completing their essays, learners participate in class discussions...

Catch-22, Joseph Heller's send-up of military organizational bureaucracy, provides readers with an opportunity to consider the importance of the anti-hero. Class members fill out a worksheet comparing and contrasting the qualities...

Mind maps are great tools. Teach your classes how to use mind maps to collect, organize, and retain information with a activity that asks learners to research the life of Sacagawea and use mind maps to record their findings.

Put your knowledge of sample surveys to good use. Pupils begin by conducting a survey of class members. They identify an appropriate topic and sampling technique; collect and organize their data; compute and analyze statistical measures;...

What makes a hero? After discussing the term and considering a book about Franklin D. Roosevelt, classmates work together to write a script and present their biography of a Great American hero. Notes sheets help group members organize...

Seniors work with teachers, counselors, and administrators to organize a community wellness fair. Committees take on the responsibility for the various tasks (publicity, set up, hospitality room, agency contact, thank you letters, etc.)....

A formidable opponent can shake up the election of an incumbent president. Class members explore the results of the elections of 1912, 1968, 1976, 1980 and 1992 using video clips. A chart helps pupils organize their thoughts and...

The right to vote was hard-won after decades of organizing by women and their allies. Using a series of video clips featuring women's historians, class members consider the efforts behind the Nineteenth Amendment. Possible extension...

The unsinkable ship that sunk. Scholars review the case against the White Star Line following the tragic loss of life from the Titanic disaster. Academics read documents and organize them into arguments for and against the cruise line....

The "On My Own Two Feet" School Handbook describes a carefully scaffolded, richly detailed substance abuse program designed for middle and high schools. Chapters look at approaches to prevention, suggestions for organizing and...

The California grape workers' strike of 1965-66 is the focus of a lesson that asks high schoolers to investigate the strategies farmworkers used to organize and gain contracts with grape growers that ensured higher waters and better work...

A two-part lesson introduces learners to a six-step process for writing and presenting oral reports. Participants learn how to select, limit, and research a topic, how to organize their notes, draft and revise their reports, and practice...

"Sí, se puede!" Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta believed organizing farm workers and changing their working conditions were possible. Scholars examine provisions of the Bracero Program, videos, and the United Farm Workers' (UFW) work....

Extra! Extra! High schoolers read about Dolores Huerta, the social activist who helped organize the United Farm Workers. Researchers read primary and secondary sources about Huerta's work and craft a headline, supported by three pieces...

Few have heard of Dolores Huerta and her part in organizing the California farm workers, establishing the United Farm Workers union and orchestrating the Delano Grape strike. High schoolers consider why this powerful woman has been...

Which activity gets your heart pumping more: using the computer, climbing the stairs, jumping rope, running, or walking? Youngsters take a heart rate reading after 30 seconds, one minute, and three minutes of each activity. The handout...

In many places in the world, people go to great lengths to get books to read. This beginning-of-the-year activity uses pictures of people reading in extraordinary situations to stimulate effective listening and speaking using the...

Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...

Aid your pupils in understanding the terms explicit and inferred while teaching them about colonial farmers. The third activity in the module builds off the previous activity and focuses heavily on inference. Learners analyze a...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

Acquaint your class with informational text through a close reading. First, examine a couple of pages together, looking at text features and content. The whole class focuses on marking down a brief summary of each paragraph before...

Mark the mid-point in the module with the authentic assessment described and provided here—the assessment and the unit focus on inferring using pictures and text. Pupils are given an image, a graphic organizer, and an article and must...