Prepare advanced English learners and low-level readers for the reading demands of post-secondary education with skill of chunking. Readers learn to make meaning from phrases rather than individual words, helping them to read more...

Learning how to describe an object or a person is a great way to develop verbal and written expression. Learners with special needs improve their verbal expressive skills and concept development skills while playing a guessing game. The...

It is so important for learners with multiple disabilities to learn how to communicate for both social and functional reasons. Each child will choose a topic from the list and generate five questions related to that topic. They'll split...

The 2016-2017 protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) motivated Camille Seaman to create "We Are Still Here," a photo essay featuring portraits of contemporary Native Americans who protested the pipeline. This eight-page...

Arthur Sze's poem, "The Shapes of Leaves," encourages young scholars to notice and speak for others who "do not speak." The lesson begins with pupils writing about a tree that they really like. The class then examines an image of...

E. E. Cummings' "Spring is like a perhaps hand" offers young scholars an opportunity to try their hands at analyzing a simile. After a warm-up activity and a close reading of the poem, class members discuss what they think the poem is...

"What should I do?" "How should I do it?" Middle Schoolers learn that answering these two questions is the key to solving problems. They begin with the first two steps of the Decision Making Process (gathering information and identifying...

Even young children watch sports and like team logos and products. It's never too early to think critically about what's onscreen. This exercise develops awareness that media communicate values (i.e. who participates in sports and who...

Perfect for establishing classroom protocols, this activity gets even the youngest learners thinking about rules and their consequences. The lesson begins with a discussion and a reading of the poem Humpty Dumpty that gets...

Log on and create learner accounts on the Big Future website, then let the lesson begin! Pupils log onto the website to explore college options. They use the tools provided to create a step-by-step college plan. This will help relieve...

Teach young adults how to become advocates for their privacy in the modern information age. In a series of five lessons, learners explore their beliefs and opinions about privacy vs. the actual laws regarding who has the right to access...

This is a twist on the old "guess how many jellybeans" game. Using estimation and math skills, learners participate in a fun "mystery jars" activity, trying to make educated guesses at how many objects are in two jars. The basic activity...

Introduce your pupils to the invaluable life skill of team and project management. Through worksheets, discussion, and role-playing activities, learners practice using tactful language, explore various management styles, and...

Construction projects of any kind require learners to use spacial reasoning, creative thinking, and critical analysis skills. They design and make a twig/leaf structure out of natural and recycled materials. This project would be great...

Youths aged 13 & 14 are most likely to notice and remember in-store tobacco promotions. Class members dissect tobacco advertising tactics and learn about relevant legislation by participating in guided discussion. Assessing...

Critical thinking and social justice are central themes for this resource on bias and crime in media. The class views and discusses an incisive PSA that highlights assumptions based on race. Small groups read newspaper opinion pieces...

A unique writing instructional activity, this plan begins with learners talking about multiculturalism in small groups. Each learner will choose a picture from a newspaper, describe it to their small group, and think about how it relates...

What is the League of Nations, when did it begin, and what is it's purpose? Young political minds can explore the answers to these questions through political cartoon analysis. Included are several political cartoons, an analysis...

In collaborative groups, young US historians sort cards (each labeled with a single early American event or issue) according to which of the first four presidents was leading the country at the time. Learners copy the events onto a...

Young scholars write a story.  In this critical thinking and writing lesson, students read a fable, answer the provided thinking skills questions, and write their own fable.

Teach your class to think of electrons as tiny packets of energy that travel in waves. Through a short video and diagram, participants see how electrons are located around the nucleus of an atom. They then get into groups and try to...

As part of their study of the influence of TV and films, class members consider how music, lighting, costumes, camera angles, etc. are used to influence the response of viewers.

To generate interest in reading Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel Unwind, class members engage in a Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DRTA) that asks them to examine the front and back covers, the blurbs, and "The...

As part of a reading of Elie Wiesel's Night class members engage in a directed reading/thinking activity that includes crafting predictions, verifying these predictions, and interpreting portions of the text.