Even supposed Utopian societies have their flaws. Using an educator's guide, individuals explore the society Ally Condie creates in Matched. Reflective writing prompts double as discussion questions and cover key themes in the novel, as...

Good things happen when algebra and geometry get together! Continue the exploration of coordinate geometry in the third lesson in the series. Pupils explore linear equations and describe the points of intersection with a given polygon as...

Using paper and a pencil, produce a pop-up puppet of a groundhog that peers out and over it's burrow to tell us when Spring is coming. 

Parallel circuits often provide less of a challenge for teens than parallel parking. An installment of a series on parallel electric circuits requires learners to solve increasingly difficult  levels of calculations. Each level...

Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.

"Immoral!" "Scandalous!" When published in 1899, Kate Chopin's The Awakening was not well received. The novel traces the tragedy of Edna Pontellier, who rebels against the strictures placed upon her as a woman and mother....

A free write, an image of magnolia leaves, and the Ed Roberson's poem "Once the Magnolia has Blossomed" ask scholars to use their noticing skills to reflect on the lesson beauty teaches about loss and grief.

To pique interest in The Last Lecture, readers are given a list of key terms and ask to craft a story inspired by the terms.

The lessons that come from reading the novel Buddy by Nigel Hinton might be masked by how much you have just enjoyed the story, but don’t let an opportunity for learning pass you by. Let this learning scheme bring clarity to the ideas...

Hosseini Khaled's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are the anchor texts in a semester-long course that explores Afghani culture and traditions.

Students map watersheds to find their boundaries.  In this watershed activity students map and then give their "watershed address."  Students show the trail from stream, larger stream to oceans.  Students describe the...

Students examine the use of /sh/ in written and spoken words by watching how their mouth moves while making the sound, identifying words, listening to a story, and making words with Elkonin letterboxes. As an assessment, they complete a...

Pupils use scanning as a comprehension skill when reading certain types of publications. They compare the reading technique used when reading in their mother language to those used when reading English.

Included here are step-by-step instructions for conducting a close reading of The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freedman. After an individual and class reading, class members read carefully through the text excerpt,...

Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is a thing with feathers” is the focus of a series of activities that model for learners how close reading can lead to understanding. The whole class plays with the metaphor, groups talk about the author’s...

What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...

Old, ild, ind, and ost may sound like a foreign language, but they actually represent common final consonant blends. Help learners recognize and pronounce consonant blends with step-by-step instructions, including scripted conversations....

Students closely read " To Build a Fire," to explore the use of narrative point of view and debate the distinction between knowledge and instinct. The elements of literary naturalism and how they relate to Jack London's work is examined...

Middle schoolers work with a partner to gather information on a question from two sources using a computer program and the Internet. They also write a report with visuals to air on closed-circuit TV for the school. Use this instructional...

Put young grammarians to the test with an activity about adverbs. A five-paragraph passage prompts kids to find the adverbs and circle them, noting their purpose in context.

This is a fantastic activity that prompts learners to think like educators and consider the value of a historically based film beyond just the accuracy of information. Your young historians will work in groups to do a close reading and...

When is using someone else's copyrighted material appropriate? Learn about copyright and fair use with a lesson from PBS.org. Scholars read through a reference sheet about authors' rights and users' rights, and then create posters...

Closed syllable words contain short vowel sounds. A phonics lessons introduces readers to consonant-vowel-consonant words. Guided instruction introduces the words with a series of dictation activities, and then learners practice reading...

Learners may giggle as they read some of the questions on this worksheet which features the perils of incorrect placement of a modifier. For this ten-question activity, 7th graders read three sentences to determine which one makes sense.