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...

Have you ever cheated on a test? What about copied someone else's homework? After reading Colleen Wenke's essay "Too Much Pressure," class members use the provided reading comprehension questions to focus their analysis of important...

Created by Jim Burke, this packet contains several activities to borrow for your unit on The Odyssey. Lots of graphic organizers and strategically phrased questions require readers to ask questions, record textual evidence, and describe...

How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing...

What is really the best way to get rid of hiccups? Investigate some old wives' tales and folk remedies related to health. Middle schoolers explore the science behind why people might believe these myths to be true and find the real...

Analyze the issues that affect the state of the economy. Have your class explore media reports about recent economic recessions, the housing bubble, and loan defaults in order to chart information about recessions and participate in an...

Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...

Scholars study a historical photograph to make predictions of what happened right after the picture was taken. They research a variety of different topics and use primary sources to answer questions about common food, fashion trends, and...

Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...

With resource links, a detailed procedure, embedded primary source documents, and a Readers Theater script, you're ready to teach! Re-enact historical events in order to boost historical perspective, discern main ideas, and draw...

A ten-day lesson is described in a short outline. It may be short but the idea is wonderful. Learners engage in textual analysis as they analyze and research various accounts of historical events common to the Civil Rights or Vietnam...

This lesson has it all, primary source documents, an interactive trade game, clear teacher background information, and sailing to the West Indies chance cards. You will play, trade, and live out the experiences of early colonists in...

Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...

Explore the differences between primary and secondary resources with this plan. First, learners will categorize a list of resources into two groups: primary or secondary. Then, the teacher reads different examples and has learners guess...

Combine literature and history with the poem "The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling. Pupils read the poem and answer four questions about the text. 

After completing The Call of the Wild, have your learners go over the plot. In small groups, pupils map the plot, making sure to include the important events listed on this page. Following this activity, individuals write about...

Get down the basics of an essay in response to reading on a graphic organizer. The sheet includes space for an introduction and conclusion as well as four supporting ideas with textual evidence. 

Take note of six different character traits on a straightforward chart. Individuals write down the character's name and provide an example that demonstrates each character trait they note down.

Unfortunately, not all books are intended as entertainment, many are written to educate and inform readers. In the second lesson of this series, the teacher reads aloud the children's book Apples by Gail Gibbons, pointing out the...

Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions challenge...

Get your writers ready to compose a constructed response essay in response to either an informational or fictional text. Pupils note down the big idea they wish to address as well as up to nine examples from the text that they wish to...

We all love to be entertained by the books we read, but how do we as readers know if that is the author's true intent? The first lesson in this series begins with a class reading of the children's book The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra...

Most young readers are aware that authors write to entertain or inform the audience, but it's also important for them to understand the art of persuasive writing. In the third lesson of this series, the teacher reads two letters to the...

Throughout any piece of writing, words and phrases are used that provide the reader hints about the author's purpose. Teach young readers how to pick up on these clues as they learn to identify writing that entertains, informs, and...