Turn of the Century Snapshot

Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...

Close reading doesn't mean to literally read text close to your face, but rather to pay attention to particular details in order to develop a deep and purposeful understanding of text. The first part of a five-part resource provides an...

Enhance the reading experience with a set of lessons designed to improve textual analysis. Seventh graders use guiding questions to read both informational text and literature closely in the first part of the unit. Next, they work on...

Engage your class in a scavenger hunt to find the main ideas and supporting details in a text. They follow the teacher while s/he models how to determine main idea and find supporting details, and then they work independently. A fun...

Upper graders explore the similarities, differences, and depth of pop music from the Romantic era and the 20th century. They listen to selections that exemplify the Baroque, Romantic, and 20th century periods, then create presentations...

Classes look at and analyze primary source images to explore the differences between the colonial regions during the Revolutionary era. They break into groups to tackle each region and then present their findings to the class. A final...

Using ichat or Edmodo 4th -6th graders participate in an inter-school literature circle. Students from two different schools pair up online through ichat and use a blog to conduct a book circle. This lesson is wonderful; it fully...

Photos can challenge stereotypes. To gain an understanding of the big picture, groups examine a series of photographs and analyze how a photographer's choices can shape a viewer's reaction to an image. For the first set of photographs,...

Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Jane Elliott's controversial blue eyes/brown eyes experiment detailed in the film A Class Divided leads to a discussion of privilege, social power, and opportunity. Viewers note how the children react to the experiment, share their...