Step into the great outdoors and develop young scientists' skills of observation with a nature journaling lesson. Given a specific focus or goal, children practice making and recording observations of nature through written descriptions...

Fifth graders prepare for their end of the unit essay assessment by continuing to look at what makes an earthquake a natural disaster. They complete a graphic organizer and write a topic sentence. To finish, they view a model essay and...

Do some good with social media. Secondary scholars participate in a live Twitter chat focusing on social justice issues. The thought-provoking activity allows academics to set up a live chat, create responses, and express their personal...

Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem. 

Who are you? Scholars draw a shield on the front of their journals that includes four items with which they identify and discuss them with a partner. Readers then use topic suggestions from the board to write about themselves on the...

Scholars become familiar with tagline literature with the help of the story, Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Terrible Day by Judith Viort. After a read-aloud and whole-class discussion, leveled groups complete...

Develop an understanding of the open-ended questions that are a part of the college Common Application. Future college learners collaborate, discuss prompts acquired from the application, and philosophize on their plan of attack for the...

Learning is never-ending. Scholars learn about effective conclusions as they continue watching a video of an opinion speech. After analyzing the speech's conclusion, they work in small groups to write an ending for their own speeches. 

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...

Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which would not be so confused if they had a study guide as great as this. Scholars increase their comprehension of A Wrinkle In Time through many supports such as guided questions, background...

The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...

Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.

Gun, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond is a seminal work of historical nonfiction from the late 20th century. Use the author's claims and supporting evidence to guide your high school seniors through their research project, culminating...

Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...

Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson plan, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...

Here's a formal plan for what many effective teachers already do: Provide a week's worth of aphorisms and have learners choose one to write about in their journals each day. They reflect on the meaning of each aphorism and project how it...

A website all about planetary mysteries—it's a one-stop-shop for all things, stars, planets, and space travel. Scholars read an astronomy overview to discover the page's big ideas, then choose from the plethora of resources, including...

At first glance Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street seems to be a charming collection of vignettes about a young Latina's observations about the people in her Chicago neighborhood. Developing questions that prompt readers to think...

To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...

Magnetic resonance imaging, just how safe is it? The introduction to unit study of magnetic resonance imaging technology presents the grand challenge questions of how an MRI machine works, the risks involved, the physics involved,...

Show a Powerpoint presentation about descriptive writing. Fourth graders brainstorm a list of writing topics and place them in graphic organizers. Then they write their own paragraphs describing topics of their choice and create...

What is the difference between a proactive person and a reactive person? Scholars explore the topic, and many others, with helpful lessons, discussions, role play activities, and games. Each activity supports one of the key principles...