Students read the text of and listen to current Christmas music in the UK. They look at current trends in Christmas music and determine which single will be the number one song and why. They look at the characteristics of the songs that...

What is the difference between myths, legends, and folktales? From greek mythology and creation myths to heroes and heroines, here is a nice series of lessons for providing your kids with solid foundational knowledge about myths.

Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are asked to craft an essay in which they compare how Maya Angelou uses figurative language to depict herself and Mrs. Flowers. 

Let's see you back it up! As shown in the 18th handout in the Writing the Paper series of 24 lessons from UNC, statistics help form an effective argument. The handout discusses how to analyze a source and break down the data to ensure it...

How can you teach a text to a group of readers who struggling with the language? The second in a set of three ESL lessons related to Theme 4: Problem Solvers engages English language learners by introducing vocabulary and grammar...

How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...

The Catcher in the Rye is the focus of a sampler that models some of activities included in a for-purchase packet based on J. D. Salinger's novel.

Class members will dig this activity that has them trying their hand at recovering artifacts. Groups are assigned a section of a sandbox, carefully uncover the artifacts in their section, and then develop theories about who might...

Adding -ed to the ends of most verbs can change a sentence to the past tense—but what about verbs like think or draw? Provide class members with practice activities that focus on both regular and irregular verbs in the simple past...

While the Spanish claimed to bring civilization to California indigenous peoples, in reality, they also brought violence and forced assimilation to European values. Primary sources, such as the reports of Catholic priests and Europeans...

Now this is a clever approach to familiarizing aspiring astronomers with the phases of the moon! They first record the specific dates for ten special events in their lives. Then they use an online moon phase calendar to find out which...

Arthur and his friends help children explore the concepts of family, community, and diversity in a fun series of activities. From performing peer interviews to mapping out the different places students have lived or visited, this...

Color, color, everywhere. As part of a three-week study of color, kindergarteners create animal color cards, design pages for an class animal book, populate an underwater scene with colorful fish, and invent and name a new color. 

What's the difference between a rock and a mineral? And what properties are used to identify minerals? The first installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes prompts young scientists to identify a set of...

What is the European Union? Where is it? Why is it? To begin a study of the EU, class members examine the physical geography of Europe and the size and population density of 28-member countries in comparison to non-member countries...

How do letters and numbers create a picture? Scholars learn to create input/output tables to graph functions. They graph both linear and nonlinear functions by creating tables and plotting points. 

Stay or go? As part of a study of immigration and human rights, class members listen to the stories of several immigrants and must decide if the story was their own if they would stay in the United States as an undocumented...

Scholars become experts on the eight major impacts of climate change through a jigsaw and grand conversation. They then research and present what they learned about effects specific to their region.    

Thinking about signing up as a substitute teacher? Subbing is not for the faint of heart but with the help of the thoughtful advice in a detailed guide, you can develop the skills you need to be a great, professional substitute teacher.

Understanding how John Brown got his inspiration from the Declaration of Independence helps learners further understand both West Virginia and United States history. The resource, a standalone, uses worksheets, discussion, and essay...

Why do Israel and Palestine have a history of conflict? Learners find out by participating in a simulation. They work through a scenario and take on one of 27–30 roles. They put themselves in the shoes of people from Israel, Palestine,...

Scientists know the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years. Scholars learn about the amount of thermic radiation absorbed by air and what happens to the rest of the...

Bud followed a series of rules from Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. The question is, how did he use those rules to thrive or survive? After a grand discussion, class members explore the novel to locate and cite textual...

Here's a perfect way to introduce perfect squares. Individuals color in the diagonals of squares and record observations about patterns. They connect their diagrams to exponents of two and perfect squares.