To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...

Don't simply proofread ... revise instead! Revising drafts is the topic of the 17th handout in UNC's Writing the Paper series of 24 lessons. Writers discover the importance of revision, as well as steps to follow during the process.

Give me a clue. Scholars work in triads to use highlighters and mark clues that lead to the author's point of view in World without Fish. The Author’s Point of View graphic organizer helps them map out their thoughts.

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

Using M.C. Escher's Hand with Reflecting Sphere as inspiration, learners create their own set of self-portraits using various reflective surfaces. The lesson begins with a discussion about portraiture and ends with a presentation of work...

Women's voices are becoming more prominent in the world of literature, but for centuries, this wasn't the case. Young historians research a woman whose writings are considered to be lost, out of print, or forgotten. They develop an oral...

Work with your department or on your own to create organized unit plans that connect to all parts of the Common Core standards. The three-page template includes space to summarize the unit, list standards for each category of the ELA...

Learning to create depth when painting or drawing takes skill and the ability to understand how things should be placed on the canvas. The class will use the Charles Deas painting Long Jakes to learn about composition, sharing...

What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.

An activity work alongside a narrative text of your choice. With reading comprehension at its focus, readers complete worksheets covering character descriptions.

The final lesson in the "What Makes Democracy Work?" series examines the connections between imagination, literature, and democracy. Class members listen to a podcast, read an excerpt from Azar Nafisi's, The Republic of Imagination, and...

How do authors convey their points of view? Using the resource, scholars read an excerpt from a primary source document about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Then, they complete graphic organizers to analyze the author's point of view.

One step at a time. Scholars complete the end of unit assessment by reading pages 70–75 of World without Fish and analyzing each paragraph one at a time. They highlight key words leading to author's point of view and complete a...

Literally, what's the meaning? Scholars read pages seven through nine of Flush and discuss literal and nonliteral meaning with figurative language. Learners work in triads to identify and define unfamiliar words. They then complete a...

Fishing for words. Scholars search for unfamiliar words in pages 27-29 of Flush, place them in their word catchers, and complete part of Noah’s Point of View graphic organizer. After identifying figurative language, learners analyze...

Scholars read chapter two of World without Fish to learn more about the fishing industry. Learners discuss in triads what it means for fishing to become an industry. They then write the gist of pages 28-33 on sticky notes and answer...

Read along with me. Two learners read the parts of Noah and Lice in Flush as the rest of the class follows along. Readers look for unfamiliar words and the use of figurative language in the text. They complete graphic organizers and...

It is all down the drain. Scholars read chapter one of Flush and write any unfamiliar words in their word catchers and identify the narrator and point of view of the story. Pupils complete a point of view anchor chart and use Thought,...

Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...

Women were in the workplace long before Rosie the Riveter pushed up her sleeve. Learn about the working options available to women during the Industrial Revolution, the Progressive Era, and the Great Depression with a lesson that...

Eighth graders research and investigate the following topics: color, light, perspective, composition, and artists' styles and lives. A class discussion of the different topics follows.

Art forms, especially government-sponsored "poster art", very effectively conveyed specific cultural values during World War II. Understanding the role that visual images play in expressing issues and ideas is critical to developing...

Students consider what makes a famous painting realistic, then examine a theoretical debate about how Renaissance masters created their true-to-life images. They create their own realistic drawings.

Students examine the changing view of women during the 20th century. Using art, literature and music, they identify the various perceptions used throughout history. They also predict what women's' perceptions are going to be in the next...