Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...

Following the reading of the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, the ninth lesson in this unit involves emerging experts in a science talk about how bullfrogs survive. Looking back through the text, young scholars prepare for the...

In the first lesson plan of this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders gain background knowledge of different jobs performed by early colonists. The class begins with a slide show presentation that includes a variety of great...

Students interpret basic chemical formulas. When class begins, students interpret a "chemical formula" for fruit salad. After they interpret the recipe, students use the same strategies to identify chemical formulas. They evaluate the...

Students read the article Blood Test Predicts When You'll Die. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, students read the article and complete a variety of activities. They work individually and in pairs to complete questions dealing...

A teacher's guide for Kindred provides instructors with a wealth of materials to enrich either a full-class reading or independent study of Octavia E. Butler's popular science fiction novel. The activities are designed to...

Inform your instruction with information about your pupils. These student information pages will help you gather data about your classes. The first page focuses on educational history and preferences and the second asks for contact...

High schoolers examine denotation and connotation in language, and paraphrase a poem. They read and analyze a sonnet by iam Shakespeare, analyze the attitude and tone, paraphrase a poem, and create a thesis about a poem based on textual...

The distinction between Shiite and Sunni Muslims is an often misunderstood concept, yet very important for its implications in global affairs and for a more comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam.

Bring this instructional activity on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The instructional activity has connections to other...

Elie Wiesel's harrowing nonfiction tale of the Holocaust, Night, is the topic of a literary crossword puzzle. Class members review key names, places, and details from the book as they complete the puzzle.

Imagine living in the hold of a sailing ship for 63 days, enduring rough seas and autumn storms. As part of a study of the voyage of the Mayflower, class members examine an online resource that details life about the ship, watch a slide...

Here is an instructional activity that asks pupils to analyze poetry and sparks discussion about two different types of texts: asking how is the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling alike and different from the story, Bud, Not Buddy by...

That is ground shaking news! Scholars read Earthquake in multiple reads to determine the gist, identify cause and effect relationships, and understand vocabulary. Learners complete graphic organizers to describe what happens before and...

Readers complete a mid-unit assessment by reading the text How Do Hurricanes Form? They answer text-dependent questions about hurricanes with short answer and sequencing. Learners then participate in a read aloud and text chunking...

What do you do when you find a word that's not familiar to you? Help readers use context clues when encountering unfamiliar words with a grammar activity. They note the parts of the sentences that show the meaning of the word,...

Examining idioms is a peace of cake when using this graphic organizer! Here, grammarians identify an idiom and use it in a sentence. Then they investigate its literal meaning versus its figurative meaning, and accompany each one with a...

Always check your assumptions when interpreting data and data visualizations. That's the take away from this exercise. Class members examine a failed project that looks at search trends to predict flu outbreaks and consider the...

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...

Take a moment in your language or social studies class to review key terms and details from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. A quick crossword puzzle allows learners to check understanding before a larger unit, test, or...

How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...

A detailed lesson written for budding poets challenges them to scan poems to discover stressed and unstressed syllables. Dashes and slashes highlight the syllables to count the feet, which makes the rhythm of the poem. Questions test...

A storm is brewing in the sea. Scholars complete multiple reads of How Does a Hurricane Form to determine gist, cause-and-effect relationships, and deepen vocabulary understanding.  To finish, they complete graphic organizers...

Making inferences is a skill that goes beyond the comprehension of written text. In this simple exercise, young learners are provided with a photograph and asked to answer a series of inference questions using only on the...