Certain behaviors make species vulnerable to extinction and others protect them. By studying species that are currently endangered, learners draw conclusions about these behaviors. They then apply their conclusions to healthy species and...

Learn all about the book Pudd'nhead Wilson with this analysis of the text. You can plan your unit with the useful teacher information provided here and use the project ideas to enrich instruction.

Take class members on a field trip to the forest without leaving the classroom. Scholars learn content-related vocabulary and factors affecting forest health with class discussions and during a presentation. Scientists combine forestry...

The more you text, the less you study. Have classes test this hypothesis or another question related to text messages. Using real data, learners use technology to create a scatter plot and calculate a regression line. They create a dot...

Can the class think like the scientists on the International Space Station? Engineers design, test, collect data, and improve a water filtration device similar to a system found on the ISS. Participants use pH strips, optional...

What is the big idea? Scholars use Middle Ages Excerpt 2 to complete a summary graphic organizer. They then use the information from the organizer to write a summary of the text on lined paper. Learners share summaries with the class.

The second module in a series for high school seniors focuses on tracking the central idea of a text across genres and from multiple author and character perspectives. Twelfth graders read a speech by Benazir Bhutto entitled "Ideas Live...

Students restate facts and details in text to inform and organize ideas and have a choice of four activities to enhance learning,

In this synthetic elements worksheet, students read a selection, "Maya Lin's Civil Rights Memorial," then decipher the main ideas. Students are asked to support their main ideas with notes and phrases that prove their understanding of...

In this language arts worksheet, students examine a blank spider map which could help organize ideas for a report or book response. Students write their topic in the center circle and the main ideas on the slanted lines that connect to...

Seventh graders examine the importance of being organized when making transitions. In this organization lesson, 7th graders watch a teacher demonstration of entering a room in a disorganized manner before discussing how the transition...

The value in this PowerPoint about the five-paragraph expository essay comes from the clear explanations and specific examples provided to illustrate each aspect; however, a complete, model essay is not included. Beware the typos!

Though this presentation is designed for the Texas Academic Skills Program's (TASP) writing assessment, it could work for any class that is preparing to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Slides take intermediate writers through...

An eye-catching hook makes a smart analogy between ingredients for a food recipe and ingredients for quality relationships. Scholars discuss and list qualities they feel contribute to positive interactions. Pupils create a recipe card...

Everything you need to know about informational text features can be found in this resource. Recognizing these types of text features and how they are used in text allows readers to better understand information. Teachers...

The Museum of Modern Art provides this educators' guide to Dada and Surrealism. Featuring the works of such artists as Jean Arp, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Meret Oppenheim among others, the guide is ideal for art history and...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them,...

Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...

Not all compare and contrast assignments have writers compare and contrast in the same way. Some only ask for comparisons, others only ask for contrasts, and many require more focus than a simple list of similarities and differences....

As part of a study of Spoken Word Poetry, class members watch a series of performance videos and note where poets get their ideas and the performance techniques used by the poets. Pupils then draft and share their poems.

Pupils use the provided census data to guess the future height of a child. They organize and plot the data, solve for the line of best fit, and determine the likely height and range for a specific age. 

Should people only have what they need? Questions from the 2005 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response section asks scholars to write essays evaluating the argument that those who are more fortunate should give all excess...

How do learners use textual evidence from a close reading to write a well-developed essay? Scholars try it by completing a mid-unit assessment based on their analysis of the first 15 paragraphs from "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia...