HIgh schoolers respond to a persuasive article on using animal research. In this english lesson, writers listen to a conversation, and discuss the point of arguments. They write a critique on a certain film and share it with their...

How can you tell if someone is happy? The lesson works with elementary and middle school scholars to activate their schema and pay attention to details to make inferences in their daily lives, poetry, and other literature. Cleverly...

But for a fluke, 1862 could have gone differently during the Civil War. When Union troops found Robert E. Lee's battle plans for critical engagements in Maryland wrapped around cigars and tossed aside, history changed forever. Class...

Fifth graders investigate the qualities of a good reader by participating in a role play with the provided scripts. They focus on the five main strategies of good readers -- predicting, clarifying, questioning, summarizing, and...

A delicate topic is the focus of this lesson. Discuss what people can do to reduce the risk of sexual assault, as well as what a person should do if he or she is sexually assaulted. This is not any easy topic to discuss in a classroom,...

Students use a crosscheck strategy to improve their oral reading rate and fluency. They are timed reading "Bud the Sub" orally three times, and work to improve their time and expression each time through. Students encourage each other...

Sixth graders analyze the primary force that drives a character's actions in a character analysis lesson. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze how characters present their actions and participate in a group activity...

Students play a game in which they build and compare large numbers to learn place value. They use place value to read, write and compare large numbers.

Take a creative approach to teaching about community in a religious context. Learners read Acts 2:42-47 and choose the verse they feel exemplify the importance of community. They then pair share, write journal responses, and then...

Students practice one-minute oral readings to increase their speed and fluency. They review several reading strategies, and then they read orally with a partner. The partner times their reading with a stopwatch and tracks their time on...

An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative lesson designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the play,...

Figurative language is the focus in the book Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. After reading Peggy Parish's book, class members dramatize idioms from the text, using dramatic strategies such as characterization, exaggeration, and...

Perfect for establishing classroom protocols, this activity gets even the youngest learners thinking about rules and their consequences. The lesson begins with a discussion and a reading of the poem Humpty Dumpty that gets...

Students learn to ask for information when they don't understand what was said to them. Students work in groups and practice asking prepared question from cards provided by the instructor.

Use Shel Silverstein's poem "Batty" to introduce poetry to young readers. This lesson is not formatted well, but the plan does suggest learners memorize a poem, recite the poem individually, and then recite the poem as a class. Poetry...

Students read and respond using appropriate reading strategies.

Although the methods are all scientific, forensic science was started by police officers rather than scientists, who relied on observation and common sense. Young detectives use many tools to solve crimes around the school in a...

High schoolers read articles, conduct Internet research and participate in a mock debate to explore the pros and cons of withdrawing from Iraq or remaining in conflict with the insurgency. They consider the difficulties of consensus...

Students explore mathematics by viewing cartoons. In this math functions lesson, students read several "Peanut" cartoons on their worksheets as they solve fraction problems and compare them to the comic strip. Students utilize addition,...

Students participate in several activities using a reading partner. They plan and organize reading meetings with their partner, and then review story elements by retelling the stories orally. The partners question each other and make...

Judy Clocks are a great invention. Here, learners review telling time to hour and half hour on Judy clocks, begin telling time to quarter hour, use clock stamps to practice, and play computer games using Trudy's Time and Place House...

Continuing from a previous lesson on how to read and analyze proposed legislation on election ballots, your class members will now practice writing up their own proposals for a new school rule or local ordinance that will be...

Fifth graders interview each other in the role of civil war personalities. In this Civil War lesson, 5th graders create a script and video of an interview with classmates who are portraying characters from the Civil War. Students are...

Young scholars improve their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding and rereading strategies, students complete a timed assessment of their words read per minute. Their words per minute are...