Your class will read an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, passed in 2008 and address the question of whether or not genetic information should be used to influence our career paths. In jigsaw style, they then are...

What do the flag, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty remind you of? After reading a short article about these national symbols, middle schoolers are asked to identify ideas that these items represent.

Want your class to use critical thinking when discussing vocabulary? Go beyond the dictionary with a vocabulary activity based on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Kids write the word in the center of a graphic organizer that also provides...

Get readers thinking about the major themes in Victor Martinez's award-winning novel, Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by asking them to agree or disagree with the prompts on an anticipation guide and to discuss...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass serves as the anchor text for a lesson on symbolism. Readers use the provided worksheets to examine the symbols in the novel as well as in the world around them.

Why did Chinua Achebe write "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" in response to Conrad's novel? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a socratic seminar focused on Achebe's purpose and...

Thanks to this game, teaching isotopes will never be the same. Physical science scholars work their way toward understanding isotopes in an entertaining game. Pupils play rummy in groups while practicing good sportsmanship and creating...

Hot off the press: a mini-unit for class members to create their own newspaper. Complete with graphic organizers, extension activities, and helpful learning targets that teach parts of a newspaper, the resource contains everything needed...

It's time for scholars to be on their own. Individuals work independently reviewing sources to answer their research questions. Learners read "Are Your Clothes Made in Sweatshops?" to help complete the mid-unit assessment. After...

Scholars submit their final performance task, a letter to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. As a culminating activity, they share their work with classmates in small groups. 

Let your class voice their opinions with a group debate activity. Before reading John Milton's Paradise Lost, they work in small groups in assigned roles to form a position about authority and rebellion, comparing a...

You'll want to take note of this app! Create custom notes that you can use to present and record information. Use the formatting options to make your notes look great, and the sharing options to keep your class up to date!

Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where learners choose...

Questioning a text is a very effective way for kids to develop their reading comprehension skills. Designed to engage all class members, a reading activity prompts pairs to develop and share their own questions about the ending of Neil...

Take a look at important images that depict the women's suffrage movement, the support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and wage equity for women over the last two centuries. As class members work through a lesson on...

Almost complete annihilation of the plants and animals on the Earth has occurred at least five times in the past. Young scientists explore each of these events. They learn about the evidence and conclusions for each event and connect...

A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...

Youngsters discover who the leaders in their community are and what it means to build a community in this four-lesson unit. 

Use a fill-in-the-blank lesson plan template to enhance your guided reading lesson plans with details surrounding decoding strategies, fluency and phrasing, vocabulary strategies, comprehension, and more! 

An article about the vascular tissues inside plants provides an opportunity to assess reading comprehension. After reading the passage, kids respond to a series of comprehension questions.

Readers of Tennessee Williams' award winning memory play, The Grass Menagerie, will be neither disappointed nor discouraged by this prereading strategy that asks learners to consider what they know about Williams and his play, what they...

The history of the northern states' involvement in the slave trade is not widely known. This resource uses the PBS documentary, Traces of the Trade, and the nonfiction book, Children of the New England Slave Trade, to examine this aspect...

How would a Frenchman, Englishman, and Native American have each viewed the French and Indian War? Your young historians will learn about their unique perspectives and the war as a whole through a role-playing activity,...

How did Native Californians and Franciscans influence one another in early California? Learners analyze a few cultural pieces to examine the impact that integration had on Franciscan and Native Californian culture.