Imagine using a six-sided cube to encourage readers to analyze a topic in greater depth. Create a cube, label each of the six sides with one of Bloom's comprehension levels, and you're ready to launch a discussion of a text....

Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...

Get a global perspective and examine the challenges facing Mahmoud Abbas, the newly elected president of the Palestinian Authority. Thoughtful classroom citizens write letters to Mr. Abbas, asking him questions and suggesting advice....

Investigate ethical issues surrounding the Decode project in Iceland. Middle and high schoolers take the positions of the Icelandic government, scientific researchers, and citizens and defend or refute the Decode project in a Reykjavik...

Why do we have CliffsNotes? SparkNotes? Middle and high schoolers examine arguments for and against the recent influx of book notes, or study guides. They stage a debate in which they represent Advocates For or Critics Against the use of...

After studying the reasons settlers entered the New World, primary learners try to persuade others to enter this new land. Class members present their arguments in a variety of ways including posters, writings, and charts. Richly...

William Bell's Forbidden City is used as the basis of a study of China, Chinese culture and government, and especially of the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Class members select a topic for Internet research and then prepare a...

Investigate the importance of author's point of view. Young linguists study primary source documents related to the Treaty of Casco Bay. The first source is authored by the Native American Chiefs, the second by an English...

When we watch news broadcasts on television, we receive a much more visual perspective than when we read the newspaper. How do sets, clothing, and music contribute to our understanding of the story? Compare American and Canadian news...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

It is much easier for kids to know they have reached a goal when that goal is clearly defined. By providing sixth graders with a checklist of Common Core reading standards written in "I can" format, each child can keep track of his own...

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...

Engage your learners in global events. The makers of the film Invisible Children began the Kony 2012 Campaign to bring awareness to the Lord's Resistance Army. You can show your class the video Kony 2012 and spark discussion with the...

Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...

Look at life from a bug's perspective, and create a wonderful image based on what you think it sees. Learners use the crayon resist painting technique to draw and paint and picture of a bug's world from its point of view. Tip: This would...

Give a little clue! Readers learn how context clues can help them determine the meaning of words by viewing a Context Clues Resource sheet then completing a Context Clues practice sheet. They then compare events presented by two...

Invite your young writers to take the reins with writing dialogue. Using two characters of their own creation, kids work with partners and then individually to write short conversations.

Even without captions, photographs can tell amazing, involved, and complex stories. Viewers analyze two photos, consider what the pictures reveal about the subjects' identity, and determine the social justice issues represented in the...

Brace for the aftershocks! Scholars read an excerpt from a primary source document about the immediate aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco fire and earthquake. Next, pupils complete an anchor chart, analyzing how the author introduces,...

Analyze that! Scholars continue reading and analyzing a primary source about the immediate aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco fire and earthquake. Then, individuals use graphic organizers to identify the author's point of view.

Imagine you are a soldier in the Civil War. What are you wearing? What do you need to carry with you? Examine the life of a person during the Civil War, from drummer boys to powder monkeys to musket-toting soldiers. Elementary...

Take a longer look at a formative time in history with a lesson that explores the causes of the American Civil War. After viewing a series of images and explanations for various forces at play, middle schoolers choose the images that...

Two scholars walk into a room arguing, what is happening? Peers observe the two actors in preparation for a whole-class discussion about conflict. Learners establish a conflict, name the three approaches—passive, aggressive, and...

They say art often imitates life. Learners research and write an expository paper on modern dance choreographer, Alvin Ailey. They focus on describing how his life and background has influenced his dance creations. This is a great...