Scholars compare and contrast two informational texts about Poison Dart Frogs. A brief vocabulary review and discussion lead the way to a two-part close reading—the first reading for gist the second reading for details. Followed by a...

In this online interactive literature activity, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. Students may check some of their answers online.

After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...

"Romans, countrymen, and lovers! Hear me for my cause." "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" As part of a study of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, individuals as asked to compare the funeral speeches of Brutus and...

Help young readers learn to read and interpret complex text independently. Teach young children to ask interpretive questions and use the text itself to answer them. Use art, word play and drama to provide a deeper understanding of...

Students examine the painting, The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan based on a poem by Lord Byron. They compare how Romantic artists and writers made choices about visual elements and language to depict their subjects.

Everyone feels stress from time to time, but how can you move past it? A seven-page packet of activities guides high schoolers through the process of recognizing and managing their stress. The resource includes discussion topics, a...

Young scholars examine a three-step process for making decisions and how their peers can influence them in different ways. They role-play different roles when making decisions and other students reflect on how they feel about the activity.

Help your students undertand the critical problems around healthcare. By focusing on the political and private process of healthcare, students will watch a video, analyze issues, and write an essay on their findings. Additionally, they...

Who would you love to see at your table? Groups research a decade, ranging from the 1840s to the 1960s, read a short story associated with that decade, and plan a dinner party, complete with table set-up and menu. After researching...

To conclude a study of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, groups create a multi-media magazine in which they investigate one aspect of the foods industry. The packet details the requirements for the project, and includes rubrics for...

"There comes an end to all things" and ending a study of horror fiction with a multimedia project is "like starting a stone. . . away the stone goes, starting others. . ." In this case, groups start with a question generated by Dr....

How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing...

Why do we have to study poetry? Here is a lesson that demonstrates some of poetry's more practical and real-world applications for reluctant learners. Start by leading a brainstorming session about where poems or pieces of poems might be...

5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...

When faced with a challenge, how do your pupils respond? Starting with character analyses, learners participate in a lesson about appearances and perseverance. They watch a short film, talk about common English expressions, and write a...

After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...

Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...

Examine the role of slaves,, slave owners, and abolitionists during the Civil War with a study of the history of the Underground Railroad. Through the many links learners research the people involved and the heroes of the movement....

Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...

A Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) strategy for Great Expectations scaffolds and guides readers as they begin Dicken's novel. Step-by-step directions are provided, as are chapter one pair-share questions, a prediction worksheet,...

Here is a wonderful way to introduce your learners to the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. There are 16 questions designed to generate thinking and discussion questions about the Fifth Amendment. This lesson is extremely...

Students analyze alcohol and tobacco ads and create parodies of them. The eight lessons in this unit include discussions about why teens smoke or drink, the psychology behind the advertising, and writing persuasive letters to agencies,...