A lesson introduces scholars to nouns and adjectives. After listening to a short story and practicing creating adjectives with a card sort, pupils go on a paper hunt to locate different types of paper, complete a chart with adjectives,...

Where's the evidence? Scholars practice ordering the evidence and reasons for their class opinion papers by physically sorting them. Next, they work collaboratively to write a body paragraph, using linking words to connect their ideas...

Little ones will absolutely love this activity. It's all about the beach and what they can find while sifting through the sand. A large bucket of sand filled with hidden items is brought into the classroom. Learners will discuss what...

Students analyze the language features and layout of a letter and discuss the language used to describe the features. They write a letter of complaint, requesting that the problem be fixed, using the appropriate language and layout.

Scholars reflect upon their reading strengths and challenges to create personal reading goals. Participants use goal-setting verbiage in an accordion-style graphic organizer, a first step in writing a letter that details their reading...

Lesson 7 focuses on building academic vocabulary and writing an explanatory letter with supported textual evidence. For the first five minutes of the lesson, the educator reminds the class of how to read and refer to the accordion...

If called, would you go? Should the US government have the power to impose a draft during any war? The Selective Service Act of 1917 (aka the Conscription Act of 1917) authorized the drafting of men into the military for only the...

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,...

Scholars read a short story about a girl visiting her grandmother, identify the main idea of the tale, and then write a sentence about this idea. Learners practice their phonics skills by filling in word blanks with letters to complete...

Young readers explore the five senses with a read-aloud anthology. Each lesson follows the routine of introducing the reading, listening to a read-aloud, answering comprehension questions, then practicing a skill. Modification and...

Drug addiction, including prescription drug addiction, begins with a reason that's different for every user. High schoolers learn more about the reasons people begin abusing drugs with a set of videos and worksheets that discuss four...

A civil rights movement lesson designed specifically with the Common Core State Standards in mind, young learners are introduced to the story of Ruby Bridges as the first African American child to attend an all-white elementary...

Alphabet insects! Who has ever heard of such a thing? Get ready because your class is going to research insects that start with a specific letter of the alphabet. In small groups, they'll use the Internet and reference texts to locate...

A variety of activities take scholars outside the classroom to explore shapes, symmetry, measurement, patterns, sorting, and time in nature. Learners participate individually, and in teams, to measure found objects, go on a...

Heart of Darkness can challenge even the best readers. Here's a pre-reading strategy that will engage class members and provide background and context for Conrad's study of racism, savagery and imperialism. Class members brainstorm,...

Andrew Carnegie's "The Gospel of Wealth" provides high schoolers an opportunity to engage more complex text. After a close reading of the essay and an analysis of Carnegie's argument that the rich are superior because they earn money,...

Students visit a local stream, pond, creek, or river and collect macroinvertebrates. They sort macroinvertebrates and identify each species using a dichotomous key. Students decide on trophic levels and construct a possible food web for...

Plant or animal? As part of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit Our Earth, learners engage in activities and exercises that provide them with extra support to master the concepts in the unit.

Perry the dog is Sarah's best friend and her guide to the visual world. Young readers learn about guide dogs and communication with Looking Out for Sarah by Glenna Lang, through a series of discussion questions and activities.

Students review rules of writing emails for letters, informal to a friend and formal.  In this writing lesson, students sort email strips into these categories and then review examples of good and bad semi-formal emails. Students...

Students observe the characteristics of different seed types. They classify, sort, name and write about the seeds.

Your learners explore growing patterns by describing, extending, creating, and evaluating practical pattern problems in this three-day collaborative unit. Beginning with concrete patterns and function tables to extend and...

George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, can seem strangely prophetic when compared to modern news events and politics. Readers of Orwell's dystopian classic sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging in...

First graders listen as they are read a book containing exmaples of word families, they listen for rhyming words. They focus on word families, words that have rhyming sounds and share the same spelling patterns. Pupils work in small...