Book Smarts

Billy Collins' "Rain" introduces the Random House 104-page magazine for educators that focuses on censorship and banned books. The resource is packed with teaching guides, articles by noted authors, and links to organizations against...

If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing narratives...

In his 2013 introduction to Fahrenheit 451, Neil Gaiman states, “Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.” In this extraordinary unit plan, readers "explore the power of written language to educate and influence...

Help your middle and high schoolers explore geometric terminology. In this geometry lesson, learners use the entire year to create an ABC Geometry book. Students use a list of terms learned in class to create a page for each letter....

Gene Demby interviews three Muslim comic book fans to get their response to Marvel's newly re-imagined superheroine, Kamala Khan, a Muslim-American teenager.

Invite your pupils to express their understanding of a novel through a collaborative video project. Groups choose a novel from those you have studied in class, select four scenes, storyboard the scenes, film the scenes, edit the film,...

Before you begin this instructional activity, note that it revolves around learners reading and finishing personal novels. If that's what your class is preparing to do, this is a great way to get creative and technological with...

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...

Learners formulate new applications for simple machines in an original invention that solves a common problem. They brainstorm ideas for a new product using simple machines and communicate a finished project through an oral, written, and...

How smart is your home? Middle and high schoolers write a journal entry describing the types of technology found in their homes. After reading an article, they are introduced to "smart" home technology. In groups, they identify and...