As part of their study of the vocabulary used in Sonia Levitin's The Cure, class members create a card, filling in words from the novel, and then engage in a bingo game.

Down on the Farm is the theme of this series of ESL lessons designed to support reading, speaking, and listening skills. Over three weeks, your learners will have the opportunity to sing songs, play guessing games, create masks,...

Even though two passages discuss the same topic, they contain different facts and details. Scholars analyze two reading passages about the Gettysburg Address and list the ways they are the same and different.

Poetry is everywhere you look! Create found poems using headlines from newspapers and magazines. Young poetry focus on creating alliterative phrases with words they find in headlines, tying their poems to a central theme.

Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...

The most effective way to support an argument is with clear and relevant evidence. As seventh graders read and listen to Cesar Chavez's California Commonwealth Club Address, they work through five sections of a textual analysis unit,...

Even the most thrilling sports career can end in an asterisk if the player uses performance-enhancing drugs. Focused on the topic of doping in sports, a seventh grade unit breaks down the arguments for and against steroids in five...

Ace the next grammar quiz with the help of a presentation about subject and object gerunds! After defining the concept, the slides guide class members through different examples and activities with gerunds.

The great Roman general, Regulus, was known for keeping his word. Read about the extent of his honesty in a reading passage about his imprisonment in Carthage, and assess reading skills with four comprehension questions.

Helen Keller became a teacher after her experience with Anne Sullivan, demonstrating to the world how valuable a dedicated mentor and determined spirit can be when overcoming adversity. Middle schoolers learn more about the influential...

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai is an inspirational tale of heroism through adversity. Focus on the key details of the book with a quick review...

Everyone has the right to a smokefree workplace, but those who work in casinos are exposed to so much secondhand smoke that they can suffer the same ailments as heavy smokers themselves. Learn more about the effects of secondhand smoke,...

Accompany a reading of First Come the Zebra written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch with a teacher's guide equipped with before reading, vocabulary, and after reading activities. Additional social studies,...

Not all news in a newspaper comes in the form of a traditional article; photographs, charts, and even editorial cartoons help spread important information, too. A civics-based unit describes the parts of the newspaper as tools for...

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery—and it's a great way to learn about poetic structure! Young poets use familiar tunes to write a song parody based on straightforward guidelines.

A strong community acts as a family during difficult times. The evidence for the family aspects of Maycomb is abundant in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, and it is the focus of a lesson on the importance of setting as it relates...

The English language is complex and sometimes counterintuitive. Guide young grammarians through a brief overview of the history of the English language with a presentation that includes lecture notes.

The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...

Can scholars predict the future? They try as they first watch the video The Future of Water to capture details and trace the argument. Next, individuals complete the Tracing an Argument note catcher to guide their thoughts. To...

Every person has a different story to tell. Scholars take a quick look at the book Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. They discover that each character tells a different story. They then look at one...

Does that happen in real life? Scholars look at their Themes of Adversity graphic organizers and think of examples in today's world for each type of adversity. They determine if today's world has the same struggles as those in the...

Pick a corner. Scholars receive a quote about the Middle Ages and then participate in a four corners activity by choosing a corner pertaining to their quotes. They then work in groups of three to discuss the bold words in their quotes....

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.