In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the women in Henry VIII's life. The errors range in capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

Whether new to teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or an experienced pro, you’ll find useful resources in this teacher’s guide. The 40-page packet includes background information, historical context, an annotated list of...

Quotation marks are the focus of this resource. In it, youngsters discover how to correctly use punctuation marks. It is meant to be carried out over a three-day period. You could shorten it, but I wouldn't. The activities are...

A standard peer editing activity, young writers get into groups and pass their papers to each of their peers in turn; each person checking their peer's paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. In a fun twist, your class...

Imagine how the world would be different if all diplomats' children were required to serve in the military. Or if all high school graduates were required to do two years of community service before post-secondary education. A 30-page...

Spark interest in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with an anticipatory exercise that begins with a brainstorm around the words heroic and good boy. Pupils then complete an anticipation guide, discuss the results in groups, and...

What is a megalomaniac? Scholars discover the word's meaning as they read and analyze paragraphs seven and eight from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice." They also read Mark Memmott's article "Remembering to Never Forget" and...

The ninth in a fourteen-lesson plan series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking in with...

Looking for an interesting text to share the world of microbes with your middle school classroom? The edition contains explanations, worksheets, experiments, discussions, and links to outside sources for a true and complete...

What a great list of brief research projects for reviewing the era of westward expansion in the United States! Learners are directed to choose and complete three of the projects on the given list, which includes opportunities to design...

It's all in the technique. Scholars revisit the model narrative they covered in lesson plan four to analyze the author's writing techniques. Readers compare techniques they spot in the narrative to those in the essay rubric. They then...

Using adjectives to create vivid descriptions is the focus of exercises in this resource. A cloze reading activity asks class members to add missing adjectives to passages from Mark Teague's The Lost and Found. They then read...

Scholars read paragraphs 13 and 14 of "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" and analyze Du Bois's chapter conclusion. Writers revisit their quick write assignments from the previous lesson plan and revise or expand them as needed.

Invite your pupils to do the teaching when it comes to the vocabulary in Pudd'nhead Wilson. Each individual is assigned one word to research in depth and teach to classmates, one pupil at a time.

Prejudice is the theme of this Pudd'nhead Wilson KWHL chart. Learners fill out their charts, discuss how to find the answers to their questions, and spend some time researching a topic they want to know more about.

Present your pupils with some moral dilemmas to examine. The scenarios, which learners rank by seriousness individually and then in groups, require learners to think about right and wrong.

The toss of a die determines what questions your pupils will answer in this lesson. Learners respond to questions based on Bloom's taxonomy, discussing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with classmates along the way. They finish by writing up...

Ah, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! Before your class reads this classic novel, encourage them to activate prior knowledge and build interest in the book with the KWHL strategy. Directions for walking your class through this strategy are...

Each one of the learners in your class has a story to tell, so help them learn the most efficient and organized way to tell their tale. A thorough unit on narrative writing addresses the writing process, grammar, story structure,...

Each genetic disorder has its own story to tell. A research-based lesson asks individuals to investigate a genetic disorder using scientific web resources. Guiding questions ask them to explain the mode of inheritance and the effects of...

Experience famous geographical landmarks around the United States right from the comfort of your very own classroom. Learners research national landmarks, such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and Niagara Falls, and then...

Explore various ecosystems from around the world as your class discovers the interdependence of all living things. Using the provided sets of ecosystem cards, young scientists work in small groups building food webs to demonstrate the...

Let's heat things up! This simple experiment demonstrates for students the important role the sun plays in providing the earth with energy. Place one cup of water in direct sunlight and one in shade, then take measurements in order to...

Humans are quickly depleting Earth's fossil fuels and locating them is becoming increasingly difficult! Layered muffins are used for models as young geologists take core samples in order to determine the presence of oil. Consider first...