Students discover how they can protect a computer from a virus. In this computer awareness lesson, students discover that strong passwords can protect computer files. Students  watch a video regarding technology in their world...

Learners create the basis for a fantasy story. They discuss what makes a story "fantasy" and identify which stories include something that could not happen in the real world. They determine what these fantasy stories have in common.

Students probe their own histories to record how they have had to expand their world views. They determine "Everyone has a culture. It influences how we see the world, ourselves, and others." The explain the concept of cultural...

Young scholars take notes as they listen to a segment from Discoverers of the New World, the Darkness of the Sea.  In this Christopher Columbus lesson, students write questions based on the material read and then research the...

Go on an electronic field trip. Discover Spanish-speaking countries through Internet exploration. Learners participate in a whole group discussion to general knowledge about the location, cultural background, independence and current...

Students engage in producing responses to "what" questions and their written responses will be recorded in a Travel Journal. They produce their respones using a word processor. This lesson is very detailed and a rubic is included.

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...

Revision is an important part of the writing process. Focus on revising topic sentences and details with the plan described here. This is part of a unit, so pupils have already filled out a graphic organizer about traveling...

Discuss tone and imagery with Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." In an attempt to get his fair lady to consummate their relationship, he write a poem urging her to seize the day! Introduce the author to your high school class,...

“The Gambler” and “The Journey” offer readers an opportunity to experience two very different views of Jewish life in Poland between WWI and WWII. Whether used as a part of a study of the Holocaust, or as a compare/contrast exercise, the...

It's important that writers leave their readers with a strong and satisfying conclusion. Help your young writers develop the skills to compose a concluding sentence with the steps outlined here. After class members have had a chance to...

While this is considered optional within the unit it is designed for, pupils would benefit from the listed activities. Working on writing and revising a paragraph about librarians who travel to isolated areas, class members can add some...

Class members identify bullying in contemporary texts and role play how they might change those scenes to examples of anti-bullying. They then re-define their initial definitions of bullying and discuss what they...

When you're writing historical fiction, the past really can become the present — especially if you're writing in the present continuous tense! Cover World War I, verb tenses, censorship, and letter writing with one informative lesson and...

First graders examine the culture of the ancient Gullah people. As a class, they practice saying and writing the days of the week and numbers in Gullah. They are read a Gullah folktale and put the events of the story into the correct...

Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...

Continue work with an informational text by following the procedures detailed here. The plan, part of a series, focuses on My Librarian is a Camel. Class members complete text-dependent questions and then prepare for and participate in a...

Acquaint your class with informational text through a close reading. First, examine a couple of pages together, looking at text features and content. The whole class focuses on marking down a brief summary of each paragraph before...

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...

Supervise the final drafting of a well-organized paragraph by following the steps outlined in this plan. Using the included sample paragraph as a model, class members brainstorm criteria for quality work and then compose their paragraphs...

Take your class on an electronic field trip to Spain! Visit Cordoba or Barcelona, and run with the bulls (virtually) in Pamplona. Groups search the Internet to find sites that permit them to explore the original Spanish-speaking country....

Is there such a thing as fate/luck? Can one fight destiny? As part of their study of Chinua Achebe's purpose in writing Things Fall Apart, class members answer these questions from Achebe's point of view and then from William...

Visit 19th century Grand Isle, Cheniere Caminada, and New Orleans! Meet the inhabitants, learn about their history and culture, and view landmarks and industries! After reading Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, class groups research the...

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.