Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...

A free write, an image of magnolia leaves, and the Ed Roberson's poem "Once the Magnolia has Blossomed" ask scholars to use their noticing skills to reflect on the lesson plan beauty teaches about loss and grief.

Scholars engage in a role-play exercise, compare their demonstration to a time-lapse video, and to a poem by E.E. Cummings. The ensuing discussion asks learners to consider the similarities among the three.

How does our moral reasoning shape our identity? After a study of Kohlberg's Levels of Moral Reasoning, readers use Kohlberg's theories to analyze the speech, thoughts, and decisions of a character in A Separate Peace. They then...

As class members continue their study of approaches to literary criticism, readers examine the symbolism and archetypal patterns in John Knowles' A Separate Peace, and how these parallels are used to develop a theme...

Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.

Support science instruction with a combination of engaging activities and skills-based worksheets that focus on clouds. Learners take part in grand discussions, write an acrostic poem, complete graphic organizers, solve word...

For classes tackling To Kill a Mockingbird, this lesson plan sets readers up for discussions or essay writing with questions and prompts. The prompts encourage individuals to explore beyond the novel itself, looking at...

How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...

Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance speech provides young historians with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use evidence from the speech. They work together to analyze how Wiesel uses rhetorical devices and syntax to...

Liliana Heker's "The Stolen Party" and Martha Salinas' "The Scholarship Jacket" provide sixth graders with an opportunity to identify key scenes that authors use to develop their themes.

Young historians study primary and secondary source materials to try and separate the true story of Pocahontas from the myths, fictional tales, and conflicting accounts of her life.

Fifteen primary sources provide a context for a study of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The packet captures the excitement for the changes promised by the amendment as well as the backlash against it.

As part of a study of Angel Island Immigration Station, young historians examine the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first restriction on the United States immigration based on race and nationality. They complete a matrix identifying...

Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome is the focus of an 11-page packet that includes three lesson plans, three worksheets, and a homework assignment. The first lesson introduces readers to the historical context of the novel. At the same time,...

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is the focus of three activities designed for readers of the autobiography.  First, class members deconstruct the title to understand Douglass's purpose in writing. Next, scholars...

Three lessons based on "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" from Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales offer scholars an opportunity to examine literary satire, medieval attitudes towards women, and the form and function of a frame story.

How do writers develop a central idea in a text? How can readers identify this central idea? These are the challenges class members tackle as they continue their analysis of "Letter One" from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet.

To prepare for the end-of-unit multi-paragraph essay, class members review Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and identify central ideas in both texts. Writers then formulate a...

The balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet takes center stage as class members consider the structural choices Shakespeare makes, i.e., having Romeo appear first in the scene and having Juliet appear unaware that Romeo is listening to her...

All good things must come to an end! Scholars put all their learning into practice by completing an end-of-unit assessment. They use textual evidence from Julia Alvarez's "A Genetics of Justice" to write essays analyzing how Alvarez...

America's success depends on everyone. Scholars examine the first two paragraphs of Booker T. Washington’s "Atlanta Compromise" speech. They work in groups to answer questions and discuss Washington's perspective on African Americans'...

How does poetry help people better understand societal issues? Pupils participate in a jigsaw activity to analyze poems from the novel Inside Out & Back Again. Next, they connect the poems to real-life refugee experiences from the...

What does it mean to turn inside out? Using the resource, scholars begin planning their end-of-unit assessment essays. They complete two graphic organizers to form claims about how refugees turn "inside out" and "back again."