When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

What kind of mouse is Despereaux Tilling ... a field mouse? A white-footed mouse? With the novel study for The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, scholars research the different species of mice and draw pictures of the one that they...

Most deer are born with white spots that disappear as they grow. An interesting novel study for Gary Paulsen's Tracker shares more fascinating facts about the majestic animals. Readers also complete a vocabulary activity, solve anagrams,...

A car crash, a murder, a hurricane. With such a plot, why is the title of Sheila Turnage's novel Three Times Lucky? After making a prediction about the plot, scholars use the novel study to research and record facts...

Who were the Ku Klux Klan, and what role did they play in the United States during the Great Depression? Using the Stella by Starlight novel study, scholars research the organization and answer questions relating to Sharon M. Draper's...

Some war heroes have four legs. War Horse tells of a courageous foal taken from his farm and sent into war. Joey, the foal, loves and touches the lives of many soldiers. However, his heart is still with his boy back on the farm. Scholars...

Wyoming has the lowest population of all 50 states. Using the novel study for Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner, pupils create brochures to attract visitors to the state, which is the setting for the novel. Additionally, they answer...

People travel to Washington, DC from all over the world to take a tour of the White House or catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument. Using the novel study for There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar, scholars research an...

Blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler ... what other recipes use blackberries? Scholars hunt for an interesting blackberry recipe to copy and share with friends after using the novel study for A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan...

Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...

Test the reading comprehension skills of your beginning and intermediate Spanish readers. First, they read the short paragraph about Claudia and her grandmother, and then they complete the two exercises that follow. The first is a...

As part of a discussion of The Last Lecture, class members engage in a gallery walk silent discussion by recording their responses to a series of questions and images posted about the classroom.

Here is lesson plan 5 from a 7 lesson plan unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this lesson plan is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use material data to study the past....

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

Here's an eight-page packet that describes 70 different improv activities to use as warm ups for drama classes. 

After reading the article "Kings Dream Everyday," class members conduct a Socratic seminar discussion of Martin Luther King's contributions to the civil rights movement. They then read and respond to a passage from Michael Eric Dyson's...

Have you had a change of heart? Scholars consider whether their views change after gaining new information about tissue ownership. They read John Moore's court hearings and respond to a quick write prompt, noting if the new information...

High schoolers read the final section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig and examine the impact of the words and tone he used. In pairs, learners discuss their homework from the previous night, answer questions about the text, and write in...

Amazing efforts of African American leaders are celebrated in a lesson on civil participation. The engaging resource focuses on primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of African American leaders such as Ella Fitzgerald....

Great minds think alike. Scholars read two texts and compare how the authors develop the same central idea. Readers analyze "Women" by Alice Walker and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss word use and new...

Scholars examine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and analyze the ideas in the preamble. Readers define new vocabulary words, listen to a Masterful Reading, answer questions in pairs, participate in a jigsaw discussion, and...

Some words leave a lasting impact. After reading paragraph 11 of the text "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," scholars closely examine how Du Bois describes the impact prejudice left on the African American community. They discuss the...

Effective or ineffective? As part of a study of post Civil War America, young historians analyze a series of primary sources to evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedmen's Bureau in addressing the challenges faced by the slaves freed by...

In this reading worksheet, students respond to the book Froggy Goes to School by completing an activity at home with a parent. Students cut out 6 name cards and paste them next to the desk for each character in the story.