Explore connections within and between informational texts with this instructional activity about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine...

If you're looking for engaging, cross-curricular, inquiry-based activities and projects to support your class reading of Carl Hiaasen's Hoot, you've come to the right place!

Surprise! is the theme of this series of challenge activities. The surprise comes from the information your scholars will discover when researching topics such as alligators and crocodiles, living in other countries, becoming a...

Two activities look at how rumors are spread and ways class members can stop them. The first activity brings forth an in-depth conversation about how reporters gather information to write articles and how students can implement the same...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Challenge your advanced learners with this set of activities based around a common theme. Learners draw, research, share, retell stories, compare and contrast, and more over the course of these activities, which focus mostly on animals...

Engage your learners in global events. The makers of the film Invisible Children began the Kony 2012 Campaign to bring awareness to the Lord's Resistance Army. You can show your class the video Kony 2012 and spark discussion with the...

Let's Look Around! is the theme of a unit that offers a plethora of challenge activities. Enhance your scholars' learning experiences and reinforce concepts with activities such as writing a book about farm animals, an...

The teacher doesn't always have to be the expert in the classroom. The first in a series of three supplementary activities Nature: Friend or Foe uses hands-on research tasks and projects to enhance readers' understanding of non-fiction...

Redesign your holiday celebrations with the aid of a lesson plan booklet packed with facts, images, maps, activities, and readings about the three-day feast that marked the English settlers' first successful harvest.

Using the article "Escaping Afghanistan: Children Pay Price," discuss the lives of Afghan refugees and the impact of Taliban rule. A detailed list of questions is provided, but you will have to search for the article. Extension...

A simple idea, this exercise will help young learners practice metacognitive and language arts skills. At the end of each day of school, have each member of your class record, in their own words, what they learned that day. Merely...

For scholars who need a challenge in the classroom, here is a unit for you. Learners explore topics such as animals, sports, helpers at home, the past, and funny things that have happened in their lives. Youngsters also engage...

Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...

Celebrate the whimsical world of Dr. Seuss on Read Across America Day with a collection of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics activities, each linked to a popular Dr. Seuss story. 

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...

Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...

Inspire scholars to do their part for planet Earth with a read-aloud of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, and variety of activities designed to boost the environmental activist in us all. Activities include writing poems about the Earth,...

Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...

Enhance a reading of the Caldecott Medal-winning children's book Joseph had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback with this collection of learning activities. Starting with general background information about the book and author,...

The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...

Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...