Find a seat at the table. Learners design a non-rectangular picnic table given constraints on the number of people that should be able to sit at the table. They draw blueprints and build scale models of their tables. After researching...

Young historians explore life on the home front during the Civil War with primary documents and a series of writing prompts. They also watch a presentation and use a worksheet to compare how communication methods have changed over time....

Fine the normality of fall measurements. Pairs collect measurements of fall leaves and one other fall object. Using the measurements, the groups determine the descriptive statistics for the object and using the Empirical Rule, figure out...

What makes a hero? After discussing the term and considering a book about Franklin D. Roosevelt, classmates work together to write a script and present their biography of a Great American hero. Notes sheets help group members organize...

"Who takes over if a president dies, resigns, is impeached, or is otherwise removed from office?" That is the question class members research. After listing the 18 successors in order, individuals respond in writing to a series of...

Some enslaved people decided to run for their liberation. Using lyrics of songs they sang, young historians look at these anthems of freedom. An assessment asks them to write the story of escape from the perspective of an enslaved...

Fraud alert! Scholars conduct research about consumer fraud and create a presentation detailing the information they find. Additionally, they research and write a report about lawsuits that resulted in large settlements.

Are you thinking about incorporating a film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel in a study of The Great Gatsby? Check out a guide loaded with suggestions for how to supplement a reading of the novel with scenes from three film...

Climb the career ladder! Using a guiding resource, pupils develop an individual career plan including goals, a resume, and self-assessments. Additionally, scholars write a cover letter to a company of choice.

Women rose to the challenge when the nation's war effort called them—but were sent home when the GIs came back from World War II. Young historians consider whether the United States valued women's contributions during the war using a...

As you work through a literary analysis unit based on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," use a writing assessment to measure your class's skills. They choose one epigraph from the story to analyze and track...

How much progress has Claudette made at the end of "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves"? Ninth graders note evidence for and against Claudette's successful adaptation into human society with a graphic organizer. Additionally,...

The final session in this 20-lesson plan unit asks individuals to use their Quick Writes, discussion notes, worksheets, and annotated text to craft and support a claim about how Shakespeare develops either Romeo or Juliet as tragic heroes.

Words stir emotions and bring out feelings. As readers listen to a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr, they stop, think about, and discuss their reactions to the words they hear. They analyze the impact of King's words. A final...

Choose your words carefully. Martin Luther King Jr. carefully chooses his words to provide evidence to support his claim about segregation. Scholars work in pairs to discuss previous lessons, complete homework assignments, determine the...

Scholars evaluate E.B. White's tone in his narrative. Lessons use turn-and-talk strategies to discuss details of a personal narrative essay, respond to guided questions, and work in pairs to analyze word choice. Learners demonstrate...

Watch your tone! Scholars take a close look at Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess. After listening to the poem, they work together to determine the impact of word choice and mood of the introduction. They then work independently on a...

What do your words say about you? Scholars look closely at the Duke's words about the Duchess in Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess. Readers talk in groups to determine how the words help them learn more about the Duke. Learners also...

What do words say about a person? Scholars closely examine the words Robert Browning uses to describe the Duchess in My Last Duchess. They work in groups to answer guided questions about how words help develop the Duchess as a character....

When is a word more than just a word? Scholars examine the significance of a word used by W.E.B. Du Bois in "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." Readers carry out a deep discussion of the use of the word problem in the text. After sharing ideas...

Scholars analyze the fifth paragraph of Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" speech. They learn more about his point of view toward color as he addresses the "white race." Pupils review their Idea Tracking Tools in pairs, answer...

Leave the past in the past. Scholars read paragraph 12 of the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" to analyze Du Bois's development of gaining liberty and leaving the ideas of the past. Pupils then carry out a three to five-minute...

Which came first: the chicken or the egg? As part of the end-of-unit assessment for The Omnivore’s Dilemma, scholars watch a video about organic eggs versus conventional farm eggs. They use graphic organizers to collect evidence as they...

Seventh graders review the stages of the writing process. In this writing process lesson plan, 7th graders review the writing process steps by creating a personal timeline. Students complete graphic organizers for the lesson plan and...