Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...

Learners identify the author's purpose in various poems from the book Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. In order to determine the purpose, pupils first observe as the teacher completes a PIES char...

Investigate the importance of author's point of view. Young linguists study primary source documents related to the Treaty of Casco Bay. The first source is authored by the Native American Chiefs, the second by an English...

Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...

Plan a Parts of a Book scavenger hunt. Begin by giving your young adventurers a book, and asking them to find the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents. After a discussion of the purpose of each of these items, class members...

Students inquire about the Holocaust. In this Holocaust lesson, students read books and discuss their thoughts. Students also collect current event articles from newspapers. Students investigate ghettos, Pearl Harbor and Navajo Code...

How does recognizing the author's purpose help you draw conclusions about a topic? Using two articles (both are attached), learners brainstorm why each author wrote each article. Are their purposes similar or different? Learners use a...

The path to a more perfect union was rockier than most history books would lead you to believe. Young historians read “Antifederalist No. 47,” written by James Madison (under the pen name “Centinel”), which sharply criticizes the...

The Emancipation Proclamation: one of the most important primary sources for studying American history! An interdisciplinary resource includes a reading of Abraham Lincoln's seminal speech quoted directly. Following the reading, pupils...

Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...

Despite the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the struggle to ensure fair voter registration and election procedures continues. Young historians...

Finding good primary source materials to support any study of history can be a challenge and time-consuming. A set of 11 primary source letters, images, and text excerpts provide young historians with an opportunity to sharpen their...

Frederic Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, although dissimilar in their backgrounds, were united in their views about slavery. A set of 14 primary sources permits scholars to examine the views of these two powerful men.

Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...

Students read a letter titled "A South African Storm" on her experiences of discrimination in the country. Individually or as a class, they answer questions about the author's purpose in writing the piece was and how she made herself...

Wow! Here is a most-impressive series of lessons and activities that revolve around the classic story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The purpose of the lessons are to provide an agricultural theme in the reading, writing, and science...

Explore concepts of audience, purpose and symbols in this instructional activity from Media Smarts that asks students to consider all the functions of music. Through a series of discussions and activities, your class will brainstorm...

Fourth and fifth graders define the term media literacy, then come up with examples that they share with the class. The types of media studied are auditory, visual, and written. Learners get together in pairs and perform a media...

Candy is always an effective motivator! A fun math activity uses M&M's and Skittles to explore two-way frequency tables and conditional probability. The candy can serve a dual purpose as manipulatives and experimental data.

Examine cyanobacteria cells as an example of prokaryotes and several other alga as examples of eukaryotes. Future biologists compare the two and notice the absence of nuclei in prokaryotes. These are classic activities for this purpose,...

Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...

Budding authors research a US President and persuade the National Park Service to add him to Mt. Rushmore. In addition to the persuasive essay, individuals are required to develop a visual presentation using a web-based software that...

Stress the importance of authenticating online resources and understanding the sources of websites' information with this activity. Using a Web-based activity, the instructional activity prompts young learners to think critically about...