Contains plans for three lessons that teach learners to examine junk mail critically. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as assessment and reflection...

Contains plans for four lessons that ask students to formulate critical thinking questions and lead class discussions about the issues raised in the books of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. In addition to objectives and standards, this...

Critical thinking, comprehension and analysis skills are the focus of this physical activity. Good beginning to teaching different ways of looking at things.

Part of a teacher workshop called "Making Civics Real," this section explains how to use questioning, especially Socratic questioning, in problem-based learning. For those not used to employing the Socratic method, the "Taxonomy of...

Literary response and prediction are the focus of this lesson plan. Knowing story structure is an important skill for literary analysis, and this gives teachers a way to help learners develop this skill. Includes links to web resources,...

Comparing and contrasting works and looking for underlying themes and messages are at the heart of this multicultural lesson plan. Provides links to several background resources, and suggestions for assessment.

This site is designed to be used by psychology students at the university level, but it provides helpful instruction for anyone writing critical reviews of non-fiction. Instruction includes everything from how to be critical to...

A complete multi-day lesson plan comparing a Maugham short story to one of the same name by Jeffrey Archer. Referenced to IRA/NCTE standards, it includes links to assessment sheets and handouts.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An inclusive unit on the New Deal and World War II with lessons about Social Security, the Zoot Suit Riots, the Dust Bowl, Mexican migration in the 1930s, the atomic bomb, Japanese internment, and the...

Integrating various creative formats with solid, researched fact, allows students to show what they have learned. The resulting "museum" can be shared with an audience in any of a number of ways. Includes handouts, rubric, and...

In this lesson, students will examine mass media critically and become aware of how much advertising is around them. They will realize the impact media has on social equality, what people buy, and on culture.

Analyzing a book takes the form of creating their own when students complete this activity. The stated goal is to help students "Read like writers." Includes link to a template for student use.

Contains plans for six lessons that ask students to write group book reviews after reading texts in literature circles. Students also learn about research and documentation as they put together their reports. In addition to objectives...

Contains plans for a lesson about writing draft letters, or reflective letters about pieces of writing that young scholars are submitting to an instructor. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links...

Use this lesson plan to delve into the exploration of character development in fiction through the novel "Bright Morning," by Scott O'Dell.

This lesson focuses on structure and logic including types and purposes of essays, organizational patterns, argumentative writing, and logic and fallacies.

Advice on steps to take and things to think about while reading a book to be reviewed. These directions will be particularly useful when reviewing non-fiction, but can be modified to work for fiction, too.

Understanding the context of modernism is important for students before they analyze modernist texts themselves. To that end, this is a three-lesson curriculum unit: 1."Understanding the Context of Modernist Poetry;" 2. "Thirteen Ways of...

Designed to help students think about their reading and writing skills, this page offers three different ways to interpret and discuss texts.

Contains plans for five lessons that ask learners to write reviews of pieces of technology (cell phones, webcams, ink pens, satellite dishes, etc.) like they would write reviews of books. In addition to objectives and standards, this...

This lesson will challenge students to weigh the textual evidence for and against the claim that Ethan's woes lay in staying in Starkfield-and not in the details of his personal relationships. In the process, students will close read...

Read why Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee believes the arts are vital to our education. Some of the key points of the article are academic, social and civil development, economic development and quality of life.

A Righteous Among Nations is a non-Jew who risked their life to save Jews from the Holocaust. Chiune Sugihara is one of these men. Read his story and answer/discuss critical thinking questions. Additional materials and tips for the...

This lesson from the Library of Congress examines the Haymarket Square riot and resulting trial from many different perspectives. Read about the position the anarchists took, as well as the reactions of the police. Questions to encourage...