What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...

Is a college education necessary for success in today's world? The class investigates the question, along with others at the end of the sixth workshop in a 15-part series. The instructional activity has four parts with multiple...

Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...

How have educational standards evolved? Educators of adults examine expectations in the 10th workshop out of 15 to better determine how standards have grown. Participants respond to a variety of sample questions to determine how they...

You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful instructional activity. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about...

How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...

Slideshow explains textual evidence and how to use the I.C.E. method when citing it.

John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Teachers can use this lesson to teach Language Arts standards, as well as Social Studies standards. This lesson plan includes pre-reading ideas,...

Learn how to infer the implicit theme in a work of fiction, distinguish theme from topic, and make complex inferences using textual evidence.

This learning module has a series of screencast videos and practice exercises designed to teach students how to support their answers with details from the text.

This tutorial focuses on critical reading using a downloadable PowerPoint presentation, "Critical Reading 101," which includes separating fact from opinion, 6 propaganda techniques, and 6 common fallacies in reasoning. Also provided is...

Engage in a research process by analyzing a variety of print and non-print texts on the subject of bullying, identifying evidence regarding the topic, and using this new information to respond to questions about the text and the topic.

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...

History Firsthand has been designed to provide elementary children with experiences which enable them to begin understanding primary sources. Students move from personal artifacts to the vast American Memory collections and learn how...

This website is an excellent resource for teaching with primary sources. This resource features Holocaust lessons, lesson plan strategies, and podcasts.

"Chicago's First Leader" is a one page, biographical passage about Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the first non-native American to settle in Chicago. He started a trading post around which the city grew. It is followed by an open-ended...

[Free Registration/Login Required] In this activity, students learn to use the PEE (point, evidence, explain) model to study Love in Romeo and Juliet. They use a tracking worksheet to write down points showing Romeo and Juliet's feelings...

"A Proud Flight" is a one page, Greek myth about Icarus and Daedelus. The father and son were imprisoned, and in order to escape, Daedelus made wings using bird feathers covered with wax. He warned Icarus not to get too near the sun or...

"Natural Gas: An Energy Resource" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about natural gas, its uses, and how it gets to homes. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...

"Chicago Is a City of Possibilities" is an inauguration speech by Deval Patrick given as he became governor of Massachusetts. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes determining...

"New Leadership" is Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech as Mayor of Chicago on April 12, 1983. It is followed by an assignment which requires students to provide evidence from the text; it includes comparing Washington's election as...

"Learn about South Africa" is a one page, nonfiction passage about South Africa and its fight to end the apartheid. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes underlining the most...

"Prairie Keepers" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the history of prairies and the Department of Agriculture's efforts to restore the prairie. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story;...

"Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech" is an excerpt from Deval Patrick's acceptance speech when he won the governorship of Massachusetts on November 7, 2006. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...