Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...

Water is vital for survival, but how does it help global cultures flourish? Elementary and middle schoolers learn about the different cultures around the world that celebrate water and incorporate it into their festivals or traditions.

Can investigative journalism become too sensationalistic and accusatory, or is it vital for the survival of a democracy? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents from early 20th-century newspapers as well as Theodore...

Using the article "Escaping Afghanistan: Children Pay Price," discuss the lives of Afghan refugees and the impact of Taliban rule. A detailed list of questions is provided, but you will have to search for the article. Extension...

Dive your class into the novel The Pinballs by Betsy Byars with the support of this reading guide. Including short answer questions, a multiple choice comprehension quiz, and extension activities, a variety of materials are...

Students connect their lives to a story or nonfiction text. In this reading connections lesson, students make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections as they complete connections stems based on a story.

Students explore the connections between natural disasters and poverty. In this economic lesson students examine worksheets and activities for each level.

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.

Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...

Students expand their knowledge of animal features and behaviors that can help or hinder their survival in a particular habitat. They participate in classroom discussions and visit a website to research animals

What are the three most important items for survival? Readers of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, ponder this question individually and share their list with a group, that must then reach consensus on the three most...

As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would...

If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...

Stop infection spread. Pupils participate in an activity to model infections and replications of viruses. Within the activity, scholars see that viruses may end up with genetic variation and connect that to how some forms of the flu are...

Whether new to teaching or a seasoned pro, this 12-page phonics and phonemic awareness guide is a must for your curriculum library. Everything from a summary of research on the topic to exercises and activities is included.

Story chains connect literary concepts, reinforce context clues, and even help learners predict what's coming next! Using words from the next chapter of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, middle schoolers craft story chains to...

What can a quarter possibly teach young learners about desert ecosystems? More than you might think. After displaying and discussing the included picture of the Arizona state quarter, the class participates in a series of...

Discover how copying nature can be beneficial to humans. Scholars read articles about examples of biomimicry and its potential applications. Along the way, they learn about Nature's Nine Laws and how they relate to biomimicry. This is...

In 2015, Peter Cook found that sea lions with high levels of exposure to toxins suffered permanent brain damage if they survived at all. Scholars learn about the accumulation of toxins at various levels of the food chain. Using...

Immediately capture the attention of your class with the smell of freshly popped popcorn in the sixth lesson of this series on the needs of living things. Young scientists first use their senses to make and record observations of...

After reading the section about medicine and healing in The Inuit Thought of It, leaners determine what they feel was the most important resource to surviving in the Arctic environment. They support their opinions with details from...

Students explore ocean environments. In this ocean environment lesson plan, students identify the things ocean animals need for survival. Students use KWL charts and search the Internet collecting information about ocean habitats....

Have your class examine the work of Gordan Parks. They determine how Park's childhood in Kansas inspired his artwork as they analyze his writings and photographs. Students complete the provided worksheets as they compare, contrast, and...

We are very dependent upon other life forms around us to survive. Here, scholars explore relationships in the ecosystem with the help of Auntie Litter and the pollution patrol. They imagine a world without grass, making connections to...