It is no easy feat to wade through legal and political documents. And incorporating this type of informational text into a literature class can also be a challenge. Here’s a resource that includes suggestions for how to address this...

Help the class determine missing factors in equations by creating arrays. Through modeling and practice, they come to see the inverse relationship between multiplication and division. As an assessment, individuals build their own array...

Therefore! However! Furthermore! Explore the power of transition words and phrases. Signal your readers by suggesting the relationship between different thoughts or points. Help them demonstrate an understanding of word relationships. 

Over four weeks, fourth graders read and discuss texts about the Middle Ages. They practice vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Writing opportunities allow learners to boost their note-taking skills...

Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...

Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times lesson provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify...

Writing a paragraph from details found directly in a text is the central focus of this thorough and explicit lesson plan. Using the stories Nasreen's Secret School and Rain School, third graders are lead step-by-step...

Binoculars are used as a metaphor for good descriptive writing. Class members first view a small picture and then an enlarged view of the same image in which the details come into focus. Next, learners examine a paragraph lacking sensory...

Almost every ancient culture observed the stars and saw pictures in the patterns. Studying stars allowed them to guide travelers, determine when to plant crops, when to harvest food, and the stories surrounding the images include some of...

Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...

Discuss classical appeals of rhetoric through the speeches of Winston Churchill and FDR. Learners read, annotate, and analyze the speeches by the men before using a graphic organizer to track the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. 

Fifth graders explore early American civilizations in a four-week ELA unit. Every lesson offers an opportunity to read and discuss a selected passage followed by word work that covers vocabulary, grammar, and morphology. Learners write...

In the second lesson plan in a series that revolves around the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker, learners practice the skill of answering direct questions from the text while using complete sentences. After a teacher-led review of how to...

Rudyard Kipling's advice to his son in the poem "If" is a resounding message that echoes through generations. After reading the famous poem, middle schoolers work on analyzing specific lines, completing activities based on...

How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson plan, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...

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...