New ReviewChina's one-child (now two-child) policy has long been a controversial topic around the world. But could it be the solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem? High schoolers read Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix before...

New ReviewWhat do you want to be when you grow up? For high schoolers, that question may be coming up more often every day. Help them contemplate their future careers with a dream board activity in which they create a poster to visually represent...

Watch your tone! Scholars analyze how diction in George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant contributes to the tone of the text. Readers watch a video, participate in a word splash, and work through a PowerPoint instructional activity to help...

Is it possible to regain trust? Scholars put much thought into the subject of trust after reading Shakespeare's Macbeth. Readers work together to analyze how the character relationships develop the a message about trust. They then create...

It's time to think deep and narrow. Scholars focus close reading on one short text but task take their thinking to a deep level. Readers use a Rhetorical Analysis Chart to analyze The Gettysburg Address and determine how Lincoln used...

Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance speech provides young historians with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use evidence from the speech. They work together to analyze how Wiesel uses rhetorical devices and syntax to...

Pupils work in small groups to answer guided questions and discuss the details they found. They also read independently, improving strategies they learned to approach and question text.

Lead scholars through a series of lessons that teach them how to develop and support an argument. Pupils first read text of facts and opinions pertaining to terrorism. After forming an argument, they construct an argumentative essay.

It's time to go claim hunting! Scholars learn to form evidence-based claims as they read of hunting during an African safari in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Educators guide pupils through a five-part unit beginning with...

Pay close attention! After finding details in a picture, scholars begin to find details in videos and text. They work together in groups, discuss in pairs, and carry out independent reading to answer guiding questions. Organizers, tools,...

Is there evidence to support that claim? Teachers use poetry to guide scholars from making claims all the way to writing essays, using evidence to support their ideas. Class members analyze a poem and work in pairs to develop claims...

Shakespeare's Macbeth has something for everyone. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment. They craft multi-paragraph essays to analyze how the author's structural choices create tension and suspense in the first two acts of the play. 

High school writers take part in peer review of their end-of-unit tasks. They begin by discussing their thought process in pairs and then edit their work. Finally, learners take part in a class discussion on the use of the semicolon and...

It's time to tie it all together. Scholars reflect on the past five lessons about Death of the Pig in the series. They examine how E.B. White develops a central idea throughout the entire essay before responding to a writing prompt.

Learners prepare for the end-of-unit task by evaluating previous homework and writing sentences with parallel structure and various phrases. Scholars do this by taking a close look at E.B. White's Death of a Pig. They examine the...

Writing poetry in ancient China was the modern equivalent of sending a greeting card. Scholars learn about the ancient Chinese poetic form called the lu shih. They read about the context of poetry during the T'ang Dynasty and complete a...

What does it mean to be Americanized? Pupils read a text excerpt from Edward Bok's "The Americanization of Edward Bok." Next, they engage in the SOAPSTone strategy for analyzing the text. Afterward, scholars write a summary of the...

Scholars read about the brightly colored flower in Eugenia Collier's short story, "Marigolds." They annotate the text and answer comprehension questions. As a concluding activity, pupils write about the author's use of diction, imagery,...

Young historians examine primary sources, including diaries, poems, and photographs, to consider the conditions in the ghettos and how they fit into the escalation of the Third Reich's plot against the Jewish people. 

How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...

Begin a study of Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution by presenting class members with 10 situations that Napoleon would face as he rose to power. Individuals select one of three options for each scenario that represents what...

Reading a scientific article about cross-species synchronization may sound like a yawner. But "Monkey See, Monkey Do" is a fascinating tale that just happens to be about yawning, within and across species. After a close reading, class...

Something wickedly wonderful this way comes in a lesson that focuses on Macbeth. After a close reading of the play, class members craft a literary analysis essay in which they use evidence from the text to show how Shakespeare uses the...

Dream or nightmare? Class members craft a synthesis essay with textual to determine to what extent the United States has fulfilled the ideas embodied in the America Dream.