Build background knowledge for The Book Thief by Markus Zusak while teaching your pupils how to determine the credibility of online sources. The plan is designed to take place over the course of two days. On the first day, model...

Analyze a fictional text with a four-page packet that explores a story's main character and moral, challenges scholars to ask and answer questions about the text, and to create a story map. 

Class members discuss the gist of chapter four of A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park with a partner and share their responses with the class. Next, they complete graphic organizers to answer text-dependent questions based on a close...

Class members discuss how culture, place, and time influence a character's identity in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Then, as part of a mid-unit assessment, they complete a Gathering Evidence graphic organizer to answer the...

Pupils consider the varying perspectives of people in different cultural groups as they read an informational text about the Dinka tribe of Southern Sudan and complete graphic organizers. They also respond to a constructed-response...

Listen up, it's time for a Fishbowl discussion! Scholars continue their discussions about water management in industry and agriculture. After hearing both sides of the debate, pupils complete graphic organizers, deciding which sector is...

Analyze historical biographies. Young scholars compare and contrast the biographies of Susan B. Anthony and Pat Nixon. They construct graphic organizers, answer critical thinking questions, complete a formative assessment.

After students complete an in-class unit on electricity they participate in making a hands-on circuit to create electricity. Then they use the computer program Kidspiration to create a graphic organizer of the content. They print their...

Kindergartners learn who community helpers are and what contributions they make for the community. They will hear a story outlining various community helpers, their jobs, and tools, create a graphic organizer connecting community...

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a treasure trove of symbolism and literary themes. Help your kids note the richest passages in the book with a lesson and graphic organizer. The lesson prepares kids to come up with a thesis...

Students read tall tales to identify story elements. In this story elements lesson, students read about Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill and use graphic organizers to record information. Students read in small groups,...

The Cay has been criticized by groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children because of the way race is portrayed. Explore the argument against the book while taking the author's perspective into account. Class members...

Write dear old Peter Rabbit a letter with this lesson. First, youngsters listen to the story Peter Rabbit and analyze the story elements. Then they complete a story map graphic organizer in order to write a letter to Peter...

Have your class review how to summarize a story. Learners discuss the way to write a summary and talk about the use of sequence words. The presentation uses a graphic organizer. This helps to make it a visually appealing presentation.

Sometimes the way a topic is presented in fiction can be very different from how it is in reality. Compare and contrast a topic from both a fiction and nonfiction source with a graphic organizer that prepares kids to write about what...

A two-day assessment challenges scholars to read an excerpt from the story, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis then complete a series of exercises in preparation for a writing assignment. Day one includes an independent...

Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....

There are eight stages of an atrocity known as genocide, and it's important to understand how they are represented so we can fight against it in the future. As young historians watch video clips of ten Jewish Holocaust survivors'...

Assess scholars' reading and writing capabilities with an exam that challenges learners to respond to an informative text. Through note-taking and peer discussion, pupils analyze a passage from the story, Follow the Water from Brook to...

Sometimes being different is an advantage. An engaging activity has scholars match cards with quadratic functions in various forms. Along the way, they learn about how each form highlights key features of quadratic functions.

Has equality always existed as an unalienable right in the United States? Use this worksheet to chronicle the history and progression of equality in major documents and speeches throughout American history. The graphic organizer asks...

Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...

A storm is brewing in the sea. Scholars complete multiple reads of How Does a Hurricane Form to determine gist, cause-and-effect relationships, and deepen vocabulary understanding.  To finish, they complete graphic organizers...

Middle schooler practice their dictionary and thesaurus skills with this vocabulary assignment.  Using the provided graphic organizer and the word list from Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, readers define each word, and find a...