Students complete a Venn diagram comparing the United States and Afghanistan. They research the history of the Taliban and how they relate to the United States and its foreign policy. They write a paper on possible solutions.

Learners analyze a piece of writing by creating diary entries based on a character.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students read an assigned book with their classmates and create a sketch of what they believe the main...

Learners trace the history of the development of Eugenics. In this social studies lesson, students read and analyze a real life case. They write a paper about what they read.

Poems are meant to be heard. Hearing a poem being read enriches one’s understanding of the tone and mood of the piece. Introduce your class to the sounds of poetry with a packet that not only details how to use poetry recordings in the...

Lapbooks, flap books, pop-up books. Kids create their own with the help of the many templates provided by this resource.

How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach,...

Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...

Students demonstrate how to retell a story in sequential order. In this reading comprehension lesson, students listen to a suggested read aloud, such as Little Boy Blue. Additionally, students practice retelling the story by using...

A handy guide offers high schoolers support as they read the American novel, The Great Gatsby. Complete with a biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, a timeline of the Roaring Twenties, discussion questions about the novel, and more, this...

Help scholars discover new ways to build their vocabulary. Groups create a game involving their vocabulary words. Using the jigsaw model, the groups shuffle and play the games of the other groups. Save the games and use them for other...

Logical thinking is at the forefront of this jam-packed lesson, with young mathematicians not only investigating geometric concepts but also how they "know what they know". Through each activity and worksheet, learners wrestle with...

As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...

How does the particular point of view in a situation affect the way it is presented? Focusing on perspectives on slavery during the Civil War, middle schoolers use research to write narratives from the points of view of their historical...

Use this well-developed class period to introduce your junior high learners as to how to provide effective feedback concerning their classmates' writing. The plan includes a warm-up, review, introduction, guided and independent practice,...

Combine the elements of dance with the actions in a poem. Learners review basic grammar, write an action-packed cinquain poem, and then choreograph a dance based on their cinquains. After the dances are done, they'll discuss the elements...

A talkative old man? A naïve believer in Human Perfectibility? A Sage? Who is this guy, anyway? The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin launches a study of the way Franklin uses structure, style, and purpose, as well as different...

Fifth graders examine their use of energy over a certain time period. They come up with a plan to reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint. Groups of learners complete a chart with three columns; energy-using events, the form...

Can you imagine living in a totalitarian country? Learners will read several primary source memoirs to gain a deeper understanding of what life is like under a controlled government. They'll discuss each piece in pairs, research...

Third graders complete a unit of study about the water cycle using both print and Internet based resources. They examine fresh and salt water and complete an online quiz before developing a multimedia presentation highlighting the phases...

Fifth graders explain the three phases of the water cycle in a narraive paragraph where they describe the journey of a single raindrop. They are introduced to five science vocabulary words and personfication.

Students explore acrostic poems. In this interactive poetry lesson, students visit the ReadWriteThink.org website to view characteristics and samples of acrostic poems. Students develop acrostic poems by using the interactive site.

Seventh graders research Greek mythological characters. They write about problems faced by middle school-aged children and how the character would handle them. Students also create story boards to accompany their oral narratives.

Young scholars compare a variety of people counters to determine how they're alike and different and then sort, classify and write about how they sort and classify people counters.