Ninth graders demonstrate their understanding of a central idea in Oedipus the King with a mid-unit writing assessment. Writers formulate a claim about the connection between prophecy and Oedipus's actions and craft an in-class essay...

A large part of analyzing or understanding art is knowing how to read about it. The New York Times has put together these who, what, where, when, and how questions to aid learners in comprehending informational pieces related to art and...

After reading a brief article on the connection between convection currents and winds, kids use information in the text to respond to a series of comprehension questions.

Looking at literature through a critical lens helps readers connect the text to the larger world. An essay examining the theme "There is no ill in the world without a remedy" forms the main part of a sample comprehensive English...

Keeping readers focused during literature discussion circles can sometimes be a challenge. Check out this worksheet that ensures accountability by establishing six very specific, very different roles for group members: facilitator,...

Want to explain the War of Independence without using just a textbook? The resource, an online exhibition, provides direct instruction to scholars. It discusses what led up to the war, the time of the war, and the legacy left behind long...

Create a neuron frenzy as your pupils play the part of the neurons. An engaging lesson creates a human chain of neurons that pass cotton balls posing as neurotransmitters. Scholars learn about pre- and post-synapses as they complete...

Residual plots let you find the perfect line of best fit. As users adjust the points on a scatter plot and a possible line of best fit, the interactive automatically changes the residual plot. This change allows them to see connections...

To understand how the allotment policy embedded in the Dawes Act, passed by the U.S. government in 1887,  affected the tribal sovereignty of Native Americans, young historians examine various maps and documents and Supreme Court...

Students connect their lives to a story or nonfiction text. In this reading connections lesson, students make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections as they complete connections stems based on a story.

Do people really need “a newer, bigger Holocaust” in order to change? Or is it possible that by making text-to-self connections to the stories of others people that they can change? In order to connect to Art Spiegelman’s Maus, class...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

In the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy is faced with a major decision. After reading, chapter 19, discuss the decision-making process Percy took, what he decided to...

Analyze the central idea or literary theme found in a series of quotes from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. For literary analysis, learners paraphrase excerpts from the play and then identify the characters' motivations for their speech.

Prior to reading Night, class members engage in a guided imagery activity that helps them make text-to-self connections to Elie Wiesel’s account of his experiences with his father in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Complete directions, as well...

Introduce some nonfiction reading into your classroom! This resource contains seven comprehension questions pertaining to an article from The New York Times website about the first middle schoolers to ever win the United States Chess...

How is a stereotype defined, and what are some mechanisms we can use to combat negative stereotyping? Your young historians will discuss how and why stereotyping occurs, as well as consider the roots of modern conceptions of...

Eighth graders participate in a computer based Family Search Unit. They use multimedia resources to research their country of origin, conduct interviews, and use software to produce narratives, databases, spreadsheets and graphs in this...

Engage conversation and explore the journey as you challenge young readers to interpret the german folktale, "The Fisherman and His Wife" written by literary brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Kids engage in a series of activities that ask them to consider differences and similarities in characteristics, both visible and invisible. With this new understanding, the class investigates the Special Olympics program and develops...

Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...

Music can help us to access memories and events in a meaningful way, and Francis Scott Key used specific words to convey what he had seen and felt when writing what would become America's national anthem. Help your class connect to...

We take a steady shower stream and clean drinking water for granted, but in many countries around the world, the lack of water or a clean water supply is responsible for higher sickness and death rates. Taking a closer look at the water...