Encourage your young writers to thoughtfully plan and organize their work. First, model how this is done and vocalize your thought process as you work. Next, create a class list of strategies that they can use during independent writing...

Explore the impact a narrator's point of view has on a story with a reading of the children's book, Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Written in four different voices, the story is told and retold from different perspectives to...

How can negative thoughts affect your life? Learn about the ways you think about yourself can define your personality, and how self control can be the answer to higher self esteem.

Here's a thought-provoking and engaging lesson for your charges. It's a Webquest about Thanksgiving. Groups of learners research Thanksgiving customs, history, and experiences. They are assigned the task of renaming Thanksgiving in order...

Students contribute their own personal gasoline consumption data with other schools. They share thoughts and opinions on fossil fuels, its effects and what they can do in an effort to conserve natural resources.

Students examine factors that affect conservation of art works after identifying the nine agents of deterioration. They study techniques and thought processes behind art conservation.

Examine conflicting viewpoints in this lesson, in which middle schoolers write their own proposal for including a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. As a class, they discover how the Bill of Rights was not a planned document to be...

In a single, soundly-designed class period, high schoolers define good character, think-pair-share about thought-provoking quotes on character (More options would enhance the discussion, worth searching online for other quotes to add.),...

Save the Lofty Trees, by Leslie Mills, provides the text for a study of the roles of animals and humans in the forest. Richly detailed, the plan offers two approaches to the play: as a scenario for children to imagine what actions would...

Fifth graders analyze a poem. In this poetry analysis lesson plan students read a poem, analyze it, and write a response. They write about their own thoughts on the poem's meaning and any feelings they have about the poem.

If you'd like to prompt some great discussions in your history class, this presentation will surely get your class talking. Addressing 19th century liberalism in Europe (including influences from England, France, America, and Ireland),...

What exactly does make life worth living? In preparation for a fishbowl discussion of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, readers of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel highlight sections that show a character grieving, coping, or suffering...

“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same. . .” After concluding Fever 1793 class members engage in a reading strategy that asks them to connect their thoughts about the self-reliance theme in...

Who would have thought to explore the concept of race through children's literature?  After reading Bell Hooks' picture book, Skin Again, and chapter sixteen of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members...

“The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” Prediction, verification, judgment, and extensions of thought are all part of a Directed ReadingThinking Activity (DRTA) developed for Measure for Measure. The rationale, assessments...

Really challenge your class when they're reading Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. Provide them with this list of six thought-provoking questions to encourage a deeper analysis. The questions are based off of Bloom's Taxonomy, and a list of...

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is one of the most prominent and influential books to come out of the existential movement. Host a group discussion in which learners list different characteristics of existent art, group...

Here is the sixth in a 10-lesson series on soccer. It takes a look at the role of gender in the sport of soccer. In general, are boys’ sports and girls’ sports equal? Are men’s sports and women’s sports equal? Is there equality in...

After reading the essay "Killing Chickens" by Meredith Hall, provide your class with these thoughtful questions. After answering the four questions listed, your writers attempt to write their own descriptive essay. Challenge them to...

Roald Dahl spreads happiness and sunbeams to your classroom with a delightful poster. It features a smiling sun and a quote from the author, encouraging kids to have good thoughts.

Self-control can seem like such a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be! By participating in this series of small group counseling activities, youngsters learn strategies to help them gain better control of their thoughts...

Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking works of literature in the middle school curriculum. Round out your novel unit with a collection of reading activities, comprehension questions, memoir and...

How does our moral reasoning shape our identity? After a study of Kohlberg's Levels of Moral Reasoning, readers use Kohlberg's theories to analyze the speech, thoughts, and decisions of a character in A Separate Peace. They then...

Credible leaders should be able to articulate who they are, what they believe, and what they stand for. This activities in this resource are designed to help future leaders develop their personal credo by responding to the prompts on the...