The literacy focus of this three-unit module is on reading scientific and technical text and writing to inform and explain. In Unit 1, young scholars build background knowledge of the rainforest and the scientists who study them. Kathryn...

In the first unit of a three-unit module, young scientists gather background knowledge about the rainforest's biodiversity. They learn how to identify the main idea in an interview and an article and practice notetaking, synthesizing,...

The 15 lessons in Unit 3 focus on the reading and writing skills scientists use while observing, researching, and recording information in field journals. The unit begins with young scientists learning how to observe and to write precise...

How does an author’s culture influence their perspective and point of view? Moreover, how does an author’s purpose affect their point of view? These are the questions middle schoolers investigate in a three-unit module that uses works by...

In the second unit in the 3A module, scholars examine how an author’s purpose affects point of view. They compare excerpts from “Comprehending the Calamity,” Emma Burke’s informational text about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, to...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the anchor text in a three-unit module that has eighth graders examine how Shakespeare develops the theme of control. Young scholars look at why and how the characters seek control and the results of...

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States takes center stage in a three-unit module that focuses particularly on The Little Rock Nine. Carlotta Walls LaNier’s, A Mighty Long Way, and Shelley Tougas’ photo essay, Little Rock Girl...

What makes stories powerful? That’s the question seventh-graders consider in a three-unit, eight-week module. Scholars analyze how Frederick Douglas, in his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, uses figurative language and word...

Were things really harder back in the day? That is the question sixth graders research in a three-unit module. They read information articles and literature about the adversities of medieval life, and then draft an essay in which they...

The 13 lessons in the first unit of Module 2B has pupils engage in a guided research project. Sixth- graders develop their reading skills as they examine informational texts about medieval times. They practice summarizing, analyze a...

Unit 3 of the ELA Module 2A focuses on how to craft an informative essay. Using what they learned reading Bud, Not Buddy, a Steve Jobs speech, and “If,” sixth-graders craft an essay based on one of their own personal rules for which to...

The 16 lessons in the Module 3, Unit 2 collection continue the study of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and the language Douglass uses to develop his purpose in writing. Both the mid-unit and final assessments require...

The final unit in Module 3A focuses on research skills. The 10 lessons in the collection have students examining how businesses can impact working conditions. Using a case study of the garment industry, class members learn to gather...

The final unit in the 3B Module asks eight graders to plan a film, with a sound track, about The Little Rock Nine using Carlotta Walls La Nier's memoir A Mighty Long Way, as a jumping off point. The eight lessons in the collection...

A Midsummer Night's Dream takes center stage in a collection of 18 resources that explore not only William Shakespeare's appeal but also the question of authorship of the plays attributed to him. Eighth graders participate in read aloud...

In Module 2B, Unit 2 collection, eighth-graders finish reading  A Midsummer Night's Dream. They collect evidence of characters trying to control one another and examine how Shakespeare drew on the myth of "Pyramus and Thisbe" in his...

Now more than ever it is essential that 21st-century learners develop strong research skills. The resources in this collection are designed to teach high schoolers how to formulate a research question, use advanced search techniques,...