How do you grow a goal from a dream to reality? You make a plan! After reading chapters two and three of Where the Red Fern Grows, learners map how Billy earns his dogs by completing an organizer in pairs and then discussing answers in...

Ask your class to go back into the text to find the answers to these nine short answer questions that focus on a chunk of Wilson Rawls' novel. The questions require pupils to recall plot points and think about why certain events happened...

This is a skills-based assessment that asks test takers to use textual evidence to determine the main idea of an excerpt from an informational text as well as respond to text-dependent questions. The assessment is the middle point...

Develop a better understanding of "Blackbeard's Ghost" with this differentiated lesson. Working in groups on a creative project, middle schoolers can reinforce their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. Use this...

Is falling in love easy or hard? Challenge your class to consider seven statements about love and relationships before reading Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Then, as you work your way through the play, revisit the sheet to record...

Young readers explore philanthropy and its effects on the public good. They discuss athletes and their examples as philanthropists. They research a sports hero and play "The Match Game" to determine what they know about other sports...

Eugenia Collier's 1969 short story "Marigolds" and The Diary of Anne Frank provide the text for a consideration of experiences that cause the loss of childhood innocence and the development of compassion for others.

Readers are asked to identify the central idea and two supporting details that develop this main idea in an article about the apprentice system popular in colonial America. 

How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...

Students explore the relationship between nature and architecture. In this cross curriculum history, culture, and architecture lesson, students observe and discuss structures visible in nature. Students view websites in which Native...

Students create their own ancient civilizations based off of topographical maps of Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and the Yellow River. In this social studies lesson, students are assigned one topographical map to use to create...

Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce’s short story, is used to model how structural moves, the decisions an author makes about setting, point of view, time order, etc., can be examined to reveal an author’s purpose. Groups...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...

Just about every public building that your students are familiar with has an access ramp which complies with ADA requirements. As it turns out, designing such a ramp is an excellent activity to incorporate slope, the Pythagorean Theorem,...

In the hustle and bustle of life in the classroom, it's easy for teachers to lose track of the standards they have taught, and those that still need to be addressed. This Common Core checklist provides educators with an easy-to-use...

Capitalism, socialism, communism ... these may seem like a whole bunch of isms to your scholars. High schoolers won't  confuse them after completing an informative resource. Your class masters how to use primary sources to...

“What is the theme of this story?” Now there’s a question all pupils dread. Rather than encountering a sea of faces that look like they were painted by Edward Munch, face a classroom filled with smiles and confidence. Show your readers...

Students complete close reading activities to analyze Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. In this literary analysis lesson, students analyze key quotations from Ethan Frome and respond to contemporary reviews of the text. Students use textual...

Plan on using Gone with the Wind as a reading selection? Here's a packet of prompts for activities and assessments.

Throughout history, the growth of big cities has resulted in the destruction of ecosystems. In the case of Chicago, IL, a grassland that was once home to bison, deer, wolves, and foxes quickly became a booming city of over three million...

Students explore the properties of light. In this light lesson, students investigate visible light by viewing a website, examining an electromagnetic spectrum chart, and observing light demonstrations. Students write about their...

Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...

Can a neon sign be considered art? Kids consider two different works that use neon text as the basis for conveying artistic social messages. They then analyze a truism from Jenny Holzer's web site that holds meaning to them personally....