Pathogens, what they are, how they spread, and how to prevent them from spreading are the focus of this resource that can be used to prepare learners for a performance task assessment or to begin the study of communicable diseases.

Focus on chapter two of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a questioning activity. After teaching and modeling several types of questions, learners work with partners and then independently to answer and...

Distinguishing between and understanding the purpose of landmarks and monuments is the focus a short activity designed to provide all learners with the context of a performance task. Images of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the...

Prepare your class members for the performance task assessment on nutrition with an activity that asks class members to rank images of foods from least nutritious to most. Participants also offer reasons for why they ranked the...

Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective in literary history. A study guide for The Hound of the Baskervilles introduces a story featuring the famous detective before sharing activities related to the text. Readers...

A study guide for Native Gardens, a dramatic play, introduces theater lovers to a set of a neighbors and the problems they face. Discussion questions in the guide tackle themes of racism, ageism, and classism.

Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...

What features do scientists use to classify animals into groups? Class groups examine a series of paired images of vertebrates (a bass and a trout, a toad and a newt, a crocodile and a tortoise, an owl and a robin, a tiger and a bear)...

Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...

Five activities encourage scholars to look inside, get in touch with their emotions, and express their feelings appropriately. Stories set the stage for feeling identification and in-depth discussions. Role play and the act of miming...

Create a simulation of acid rain in your classroom with lemon juice and bean plants to help kids study the effects of pollution on plants. In addition, learners will listen to a story and write responses based on guiding questions.

The beauty of this colorful presentation about Cornell notes is that it begins with a very powerful statistic: "Those who take organized notes and do something with them remember 90-100% of the material indefinitely!" Zounds! Now there's...

Make connections between Esperanza Rising and human rights with the activities outlined here. The instructional activity starts out with a brief quiz and review of the novel. After that, pupils circulate and share quote strips that you...

Enchant your youngsters by reading them The Jellybeans and the Big Dance, by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans. Ask them to name objects that begin with the letter J like jellybeans. Give each of them some jellybeans to sort by color....

Invite your class on a ride through the American Revolution. Young historians travel through time as they explore the events that led to the foundation of the United States of America. Over the course of eight lessons, this unit...

What do Robert Downey Jr., Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Fritz Weaver, Roger Moore, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Daffy Duck have in common? Why, it’s elementary, my dear Watson! They all have portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Literary detectives...

A poignant 20-slide show introduces high schoolers to the amazing accomplishments of genomics and raises the question of eugenics. This lesson plan is only for mature audiences, as it deals with rape and other sensitive topics, but it is...

Why do writers choose the language they do? Here's a resource that has the poet himself answer that very question. Joseph Coelho explains why he chose the words and images he used in his poem, "If All the World Were Paper."

Creating story quilts is a great way to combine art, social studies and literature. Kids select a story, a published one or one of their own, to illustrate, paint on a canvas square, embellish, and mount on a felt backing.

Introduce your young adults to the important understanding that the money they receive from their paychecks is a net amount as a result of deductions from taxes. Other topics covered include federal, state, Medicare and social...

Students read articles, both pro and con, about a city proposing to approve gambling. They discuss the biases of the articles then interview parents and community members about the issue. They work in small groups to develop either a pro...

Where does the money for political campaigns come from? Guide your class with 10 multiple choice questions on money and the election process. There are 5 true/false and 5 multiple choice questions for them to answer. Use as a quiz or for...

Rock exploration, so exciting! After reading the book Everybody Needs a Rock, the class makes sandwiches to better understand that the Earth is made in layers. They then use a description of the 3 types of rock to conduct an observation...

Students create a mobile of various geometric designs to be usend to display information from a variety of texts. They add graphics as well as graphs and charts, color, design and artwork to express the ideas learned through the...