Young scholars read passages about the context of paintings for artist Gilbert Stuart. In this art history lesson, students study paintings by artist Gilbert Stuart and learn about the context of his art. Young scholars then complete a...

Students discover idioms. In this inferencing lesson plan, students identify idioms from passages and infer meanings of unknown idioms using prior knowledge and experience.  Students write sentences using newly learned idioms. 

In this vocabulary comprehension instructional activity, students read a passage about locust, then complete 7 multiple choice questions. An answer key is provided.

Third graders improve their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing cover ups and cross checking, 3rd graders complete an initial read of a text. Working with a partner, they complete a timed assessment of...

Economics can be a competitive and, at times, devious subject. Learners work through a series of four worksheets to better understand oligopoly. Each sheet includes real-world scenarios, passages to read, graphs to analyze, and short...

Young scholars read a book with each student having a specific job for the class.  In this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...

“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...

What kinds of questions could be asked with different pieces of literature? Use QAR questions to help your middle schoolers develop the skills to find information in a text. Thorough directions, a text excerpt, and a set of reading...

The debate over the Equal Rights Amendment continues. To better understand the controversy, class members research the history of attempts to get the amendment ratified. In addition, pairs engage in a structured academic conversation...

Read the short passage provided, and have your class answer the five questions that follow. Can they identify the author's purpose for writing this passage? 

Focus on a passage about the new year with your English language learners. You can start with reading the passage aloud to your class, and then launch into the related activities. Pupils match phrases, complete cloze-style activities,...

Readers of Nineteen Eighty-Four engage in a close reading exercise that directs their focus to the key details Orwell provides in the opening paragraphs to introduce his dystopian society. The included worksheeet is divided into three...

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...

The focus of this writing worksheet is to have writers revise and edit a three-paragraph passage to eliminate wordiness and repetition. The paragraphs are quite long, and this should take most students quite a while to complete.

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

What is an idiom, and why is it necessary that we know and understand them? This brief PowerPoint helps answer these questions by looking at examples and offering a strategy for reading new text that might contain an idiom. The final...

“. . . the car looked as it had caught some terrible disease.” Pairs read and then illustrate a passage from either “The Year I Drove through the Car Wash” or “Riding Is an Exercise of the Mind” in preparation for a discussion of...

This is a great activity! Upper elementary learners read a dialogue-driven passage. Then, they rewrite lines of dialogue by removing the quotation marks and shifting the verb tense to past. Grammar and great writing skills all in one. An...

Before your high schoolers embark on the journey of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, provide them with this prereading activity. Independently, they respond to seven statements that connect with the novel. For example, they must decide if...

What better day to celebrate the US Constitution than on Constitution Day! After reading a short passage about the different understandings of habeas corpus and ex post facto, sixth graders respond to 10 multiple choice and short...

Inbox out of control? Let's clean it up! Learners explore the components of an e-mail system during the third lesson in a series of nine that focus on career education and skills. After reading a short passage, individuals identify the...

Explore ancient warfare through a dramatic reading of select portions of The Iliad with your class. They will identify the major characters in The Iliad and explain the strategies, external forces, and alliances of the Trojan War

Learners discuss how Washington Irving is considered an important 19th century-American storyteller. They create their own version of a passage from 'The Legend' after listening to the story.