Data is a powerful tool that your class can use for both good and evil! Help your classes become knowledgeable consumers of information through a game-based exploration. Learners examine a method of determining the reliability of a...

Distinguishing among different types of content when conducting online searches can be a challenge. An informative resource helps researchers identify different types of content, from fact-based reports to ads, from propaganda to satire....

Here is a instructional activity which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to...

What facts are essential, and what facts are irrelevant when making a decision? As class members continue with the Fallout Shelter exercise, groups develop questions and interview the 10 volunteers acting as candidates for the bomb...

Before making important decisions, gathering as much information as possible is best. That's the take-away from the second lesson in the Decision-Making module of the Overcoming Obstacles course. Middle schoolers engage in a series of...

Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...

Show your class how to read a map and decipher all of the markings and features. Start out by connecting maps to their homework from the night before and their current reading, in this case That Book Woman, and a related informational...

There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and...

Scholars create and commit to a contract for their Service Learning project. The contract details who is responsible for which tasks on the action plan they developed in a previous lesson.

Heat things up in your earth science class with this collaborative lesson on volcanoes. After first being introduced to the different types of volcanoes and how they are formed, young geologists work in small groups to...

Family traditions are the focus of a lesson that explores the lives of children in India and those in your classroom. Scholars examine their own family roles and traditions, then respond to an informative text detailing a young...

Breaking news reports can be short of facts. Young journalists select a pair of news articles about a disaster; one published within hours of the event and the second published the following day. They examine whether facts in the report...

Creating a solar system map is a snap thanks to a hands-on activity! Science scholars explore the solar system by building it wherever they choose during an interactive from PBS's Space series. Users pick both the location and scale for...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

Young historians compare the presentation of medical care during the Civil War in passages from fictional and nonfictional texts. They examine passages from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Soldier's...

Have you ever been called an expert before? Pupils analyze how to break down sources of information using group work and individual skills. They begin to understand the tools of becoming an expert on a topic by using subtopics and...

Before maps went mobile, people actually had to learn how to read maps. Pupils look at map elements in order to understand how to read them and locate specific locations. Finally, young cartographers discover how to make aerial maps.

During an Olympics year, the world joins together to celebrate athleticism, patriotism, and history. Learn about the Olympiads of the 20th century with a research project in which groups research one year's Olympic Games. They note the...

Through discussion, role play, read-alouds, writing, and more, scholars explore the concept of bullying and practice having courage while responsibly reporting unfriendly behavior. Friendship and respect are practiced and...

Freaky frogs are the focus of a lesson plan designed to boost reading comprehension skills using text features and asking and answering questions. Informational text and a poem supply scholars with animal-related vocabulary and facts. A...

Order in the court! Scholars act as news judges, learning how to analyze the newsworthiness of several pieces of information. Working in small groups, they determine which events are most newsworthy and then complete graphic organizers...

Frogs are the theme of a lesson plan that challenges scholars to examine photographs, read informational texts, then ask and answer questions. Scholars work collaboratelively as they rotate through stations, discuss their observations,...

Can three works of literature work together to establish and develop a common central idea? Put your thoughts into writing with a final assessment focused on a unit-long analysis of Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His...

Everything you wanted to know about orienteering, and more! Take your class on an adventure with this creative activity. You will need to gather some supplies and materials and maps for your specific location, but the unit sounds like it...