Designed as an overview for instructors using The Last Lecture for the first time, this packet provides an overview of Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow's book.

As part of a discussion of The Last Lecture, class members engage in a gallery walk silent discussion by recording their responses to a series of questions and images posted about the classroom.

Here's an exit slip activity that asks readers of The Last Lecture to identify three lessons from "Part III: Adventures and Lessons Learned" that resonated for them.

To pique interest in The Last Lecture, readers are given a list of key terms and ask to craft a story inspired by the terms.

Powerful verbs. Significant nouns. Great adjectives. Readers of The Last Lecture conduct a power vocabulary search and create a list of words drawn from the text that will be used to craft a found poem.

To focus attention on key concepts and vocabulary words in The Last Lecture, readers use power words drawn from the text to craft found poems.

Some words are best left unspoken.  Words matter, according to Benjamin Zander, conductor, teacher, and lecturer. To illustrate his point, Zander recounts a story told to him by a survivor of Auschwitz. As a result of her experience...

The greenhouse effect warms up earth enough so it can support life, but if it heats up too much, life won't be able to survive. An interactive presentation covers the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, climate forcing, and climate...

The Fantastic Voyage is becoming close to reality. The class reads an article on the use of nanotechnology in the medical field and participate in a discussion about what they read. The discussion method helps class members become more...

After completing S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, eighth graders compose a personal letter to their teacher detailing what they liked about the novel and the activities assigned during the course of the unit. A clever way to get feedback,...

What was life like for the early colonists? Read along with an informational presentation, rich in text. Colonial slavery, slave culuture, colonial religion, and the Great Awakening are all described in full. Tip: The resource could be...

The Lord of the Flies and The Kite Runner are the core texts in a unit that asks learners to examine various texts that show how fear can be a destructive force or it can be an agent of change. Individuals they design a project that...

What might a papaya symbolize? Using the resource, scholars look for examples of symbolism in the novel Inside Out & Back Again. They also participate in a silent discussion called a Chalk Talk, writing their responses to a...

The majority of this presentation is a collection of diagrams and graphs that back your lecture on biogeochemical cycles. The last few slides define ecosystems and the Gaia hypothesis. You may find these slides valuable, but will...

Your class might be surprised to learn that mirrors have been around since the first century AD! Young scientists explore reflection and refraction of light through a series of challenges. They use this knowledge to design their own...

How was Edgar Allan Poe able to create "intriguing, memorable, and lasting literature"? To answer this question, learners analyze the syntax, diction, and characterizations in Poe's poems and short stories and compare the impact of these...

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

Earth's climate changed drastically throughout the history of the planet, so why do scientists blame humans for recent changes? Observe data covering the history of the planet that proves the natural climate change patterns. Then, learn...

Want to learn some quick facts about Victorian England? Check out a series of fact cards that include information about class structure, education rights, public health, and Queen Victoria herself.

A highly engaging warm-up activity starts this plan for teaching class members about the Vietnam War. After the anticipatory activity, the teacher chooses how to provide an overview of the war (PowerPoint, lecture, textbook, etc.). Next,...

Begin a full lesson on climate change by demonstrating how carbon dioxide gas contributes to increased temperatures. Be aware that pressure inside the antacid-containing bottle in Activity 2 may cause the lid to fly off; keep viewers at...

Floating fragments of elodea can grow even without roots. Young scientists use eldoea plants to observe the oxygen production from photosynthesis. They study the difference between having access to high amounts of light and low amounts...

Your class will have no problem completing these activities, as long as they were paying attention during your last lecture on the Tudors! They put the Tudor Kings and Queens in order on a timeline, and then answer five review...

Develop a more precise definition of similar. The lesson begins with an informal definition of similar figures and develops the need to be more precise. The class learns about dilations and uses that knowledge to arrive at a...