Investigate and report on three issues related to a current election. Elementary aged learners research information about specific issues, develop an opinion, and write a persuasive essay using supporting details and evidence to support...

Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this lesson, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story, receive different...

Technology—what exactly is it? Find out with a project designed to inspire the inner inventor in us all. The activity begins with a captivating podcast and a search of multiple websites that display different inventions and technology,...

Writing and sketching functions—what more could you want to do? Learners write and sketch functions that meet certain conditions as they complete a short task. They find a parabola that encompasses three quadrants of the coordinate plane...

It's time to put pen to paper. Scholars complete the first part of the mid-unit 3 assessment, writing a short constructed response about international aid following a natural disaster. Next, pupils use informational texts and note...

The Grapes of Wrath. The Jungle. Native Son. The Things They Carried. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. To address a current social, political, economic, or environmental issue, class groups pair the reading of a...

It's time to make a rule sandwich! After exploring the writing assignment's rubric and analyzing a model essay, learners are guided through the prewriting phase using the sandwich technique. Pupils create their sandwich addressing the...

To demonstrate their ability to craft an analysis of informational text, class members read excerpts from James Madison's "The Federalist No. 10," from George Washington's Farewell Address, and from Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural...

Learners prepare for the end-of-unit task by evaluating previous homework and writing sentences with parallel structure and various phrases. Scholars do this by closely examining E.B. White's Death of a Pig. They examine the structure of...

Review the terms denotation, connotation, diction, and mood in paragraph writing. After defining the terms, middle schoolers practice writing examples of both connotation and denotation. They complete a connotation and denotation...

As a middle school assessment task, learners first two write equations representing their purchase of chips and candy bars. They then solve the system of equations to find the price of each item.

How do you assess whether pupils have mastered certain concepts and skills? Designing a performance task that asks learners to demonstrate their skills and providing writers with a rubric that identifies these skills and provides...

Even U.S. President James Garfield had his own proof of the Pythagorean Theorem! Pupils consider three different attempts at a geometric proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. They then select the best proof and write paragraphs detailing...

What does the future of energy look like? Junior engineers collaborate to discover a solution to the global energy crisis during a very hands-on lesson. The unit focuses on learning through collaboration to develop a deep understanding...

To examine mathematical functions in a modeling situation pupils combine quadratic and step functions to represent a presented scenario. They both graph and write a function to represent data shown in a table. 

You're never too young to learn about banking and personal finance. Use a set of seven banking lessons to teach middle schoolers about checking and savings accounts, interest rates, loans and credit cards, and safety deposit boxes.

Students conduct research on a selected topic, organize the research information, and write a report. They read and discuss the rubric, brainstorm to develop criteria for determining credible sources, complete a KWL chart or web, and...

Young writers compare writing a paper to building a barn. They write a thesis statement using parallel construction and use transitions to hold the paper (walls of the barn) together. A barn raising video link is included; great for...

Wrap up a study of Seedfolks with a final essay. Writers can draft their essays by following the steps and filling in the organizer provided here. The packet begins with a prompt, includes a few basic requirements, and provides an...

Let's get creative! With the fun resource, pupils continue working on their graphic novelettes about an invention, adding text and images to each section. When finished, they engage in a peer critique process, giving and receiving...

Write it down. Scholars take a close look at essay writing by examining the New York state writing rubric. They then discuss a model essay and compare the model essay to the What Makes a Literary Analysis Essay Effective? Anchor...

Howdy, partner! Scholars partner up to look at the last two rows in the writing rubric. After discussing the details in the rubric about organization and conventions, learners use colored writing tools to circle feedback in their...

Use the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin to teach your third grade class about descriptive writing. Following a teacher read-aloud of the story, the class brainstorms a list of adjectives describing the main character. Students use this list...

Writers align their position papers with the last two rows in the rubric. After looking at the rubric rows for vocabulary and conventions along with feedback on their papers, class members revise their essays. They then look at the...