Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...

Applying photography basics they learn for this project, first graders take pictures of an adult at work focusing on the tools used, the work site, and job responsibilities. After making a career book that includes photos and...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....

Study opposing viewpoints with this lesson, which examines President Bush's September 2004 address at the United Nations. Middle schoolers study the text of the address, and then stage formal debates arguing for or against the reasons to...

Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...

Students use video and the Internet to research the life of Nellie Bly, a famous female reporter from the 19th century. They research a writer and present their information to the class in the style of a news reporter.

How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...

High schoolers examine a variety of ethical issues that arise in criminal cases. They get into groups, and perform a case study of a real situation in which many of these ethical issues came up. All of the worksheets needed to...

Pre-writing activities are covered to help your students examine topics and personal experiences. Your class will discover how to choose topics which create a strong piece of writing and incorporate personal knowledge.

Learners examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...

Students view various images to examine different types of protest Americans have used throughout history, and explore ways in which protest can produce change for better or worse.

Students view image of Bridgeport Community Protest, discuss event depicted in image, and demonstrate knowledge of protest by organizing and carrying out an actual protest or demonstration.

Research current and proposed peace talks around the world with this New York Times lesson, Using the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria as a starting point, middle schoolers create a news program on the subject. They propose a future...

Learners create questions to pose to adults working in Middle School. In groups, students create a video interviewing the Middle School staff. They edit the video and format present it as an introduction to Middle School for perspective...

Share their opinions on the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. After reading an article, they evaluate the pros and cons of the databases and work in groups to answer discussion questions. They write a letter to a state...

In pairs learners perform a silent skit portraying relationships between two known characters from a popular book or a play for their classmates. Next, the class will read and discuss a NYTimes article about a film school in the Bronx...

This lesson asks young readers to predict what will happen to Harry Potter. While the question has been answered by the last book and film in the series, the concept and links provided by The New York Times’ Learning Network are...

Des'ree's song "You Gotta Be" is used to model for language learners the forms that can be used to express necessity (must, have to, have got to). After examining the grammar in the song, the attention switches to a discussion of the...

Here's a clever way to introduce language learners to noun clauses. After a brief exercise that provides examples of different types of noun clauses, class members listen to the Association's "Never, My Love" and identify the clauses in...

Students discuss and write about different feelings they or someone else may have. In this feelings lesson plan, students discuss different ways they express their feelings. Then they get a picture with someone who is demonstrating a...

First graders write four simple sentences about themselves. In this simple sentences lesson plan, learners insert a picture of themselves into Microsoft Word. Everyone writes four simple sentences about themselves. These pictures and...

Students research the Wright Brothers and their plane. In this airplane history instructional activity, students use a hotlist of sites to research and create an airplane. A question is provided for each site.

Shed light on what antonyms, synonyms, and homophones are. In this lesson, upper elementary schoolers create pairs using an antonym, a homophone, and/or a synonym. Then they play an antonym matching game.

Set a purpose for reading informational texts with this reading lesson plan. To find the central idea of a text, young readers turn titles and subtitles into questions to help them understand the text. They complete a T-chart for the...