Classify By Topic

Eighth graders take a stand on a variety of controversial topics with a lesson on argumentative writing. As they view an informative presentation and work with collaborative groups, they decide which side of each argument they want to...

After reading a text, ask your pupils to recall and organize what they've just learned into a blank three-column chart. Class members write the topic and fill in the columns with information. The sheet also prompts students to write a...

You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...

What features do scientists use to classify animals into groups? Class groups examine a series of paired images of vertebrates (a bass and a trout, a toad and a newt, a crocodile and a tortoise, an owl and a robin, a tiger and a bear)...

Brainstorming can be more than simply writing down a few ideas. Using the Inspiration Software program, learners visualize the process and learn about linking ideas to form logical relationships. Even without the program, there is still...

Young researchers can become paralyzed by the amount of information they find and its lack of organization. Help them outline using Inspiration. Learners use the program to create a visual depiction of their main topic and its subtopics....

Use Inspiration software with your writers to compose mind maps! If you don't have the program, you can download a thirty-day trial or simply follow the steps and write out a graphic organizer on paper to organize one main idea. Each...

How do you help learners determine what they already know about a topic? What questions require further research? Inspiration® software offers a detailed approach to using their mind map template that supports research and the writing...

What is and what will be the role of newspapers in the future? Keeping this essential question in mind, class members use print, electronic, and/or web editions of newspapers, to investigate topics that include financial literary,...

A great way to respond to poetry is to become a poet yourself. Learners discover the freedom of poetry by evaluating different works of poetry with regard to theme. They identify and explore various poetic themes, such as death,...