Learners explore the Westward Expansion Movement of U.S. history. In this Westward movement lesson, students use primary and secondary source documents research personal accounts of those who travelled west during the era....

Harry needs a new wardrobe. Mathematicians watch a Cyberchase episode in which Harry uses a $100 budget for a fashion update. This anticipatory video prepares your class for a lesson in the use of two variables to solve real-world...

Fourth graders learn about a slavery rebellion.  In this slavery lesson plan, 4th graders work in groups to review different non-violent ways enslaved Africans protested slavery.  Students learn about the Stono Rebellion, read...

Young scholars understand the movement of tectonic plates. In this tectonic plates lesson, students access prior knowledge of convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries.  Young scholars discuss energy transfer involved in plate...

Students develop an analytical perspective of how historians record, preserve, and interpret data. In this US history lesson students read and interpret personal accounts of the Great Depression. They discuss how interpretation affects...

Students work in groups to create the planets of the solar system.  In this planets lesson, students create a hanging solar system taking into account the size, shape and position of the planets.  Students discuss the gravity...

Learners write the story of Rosa Parks from the perspective of someone who was sitting on the bus that day.  In this Rosa Parks/biography lesson, students read the story of Rosa Parks and discuss it in small groups.  After...

Learners prepare a reaction statement about what they read. In this Holocaust lesson plan students read several personal accounts from the Holocaust. The learners answer a series of questions related to the Nazis and their concentration...

Learners examine the contributions of Holocaust heroes. In this Holocaust lesson, students watch "Holocaust Heroes," and discuss the stories shared in the video. Learners create scrapbooks that feature the real or fictional account...

Some write to inform, and others to persuade. Show your class the difference between these two purposes with the instructional activity and sample essays provided here. First, model how you might change a few words in order to present a...

Familiarize your class with the genre of biography. After some direct instruction about biography, work together to discuss historical facts and significant events from A Picture Book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler. In order...

How do you that you are reading a realistic fiction story? Help your pupils discover the answer to this question by providing a series of situations for them to relate to and analyze. The instructional activity is meant as a build-up...

The ability to use text features effectively can translate to many texts and purposes. Show your class these tools while working with the biography Lost Star: The Story of Amelia Earhart. Explore the different text features within the...

Start out with a general scenario to get your class warmed up. Have individuals guess what will happen next and then apply that skill to Maniac Magee. Provide guided practice and then break your class off into partners to fill out a...

Examine the conflicts in The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson. The strategy outlined here, which could be used for a variety of texts, focuses on the type of conflict, who is involved, and what causes the conflict. Class members...

Predict what will happen next in The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson. Class members can use their prior knowledge of the story and other experiences to determine what will happen next. Active readers make predictions as...

Use comic strip format to help organize and sequence events in a story. The lesson plan here focuses on The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest Man in Baseball; however, this strategy could be used for summarizing any text. Pupils must...

Pupils are often confused by the literary terms tone and voice. Focus on tone by analyzing the poems suggested here, which are all from Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. While reading through each poem,...

Learners identify the author's purpose in various poems from the book Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. In order to determine the purpose, pupils first observe as the teacher completes a PIES char...

Learners imagine themselves as 'witnesses' to historical events in different time periods in the Irish conflict. They write 'day in the life' accounts of their 'place' in Irish history.

Learners explore first-hand accounts and pictures of refugees, focusing initially on child refugees in Chechnya. They then create collages that describe, through words and images, the experience of refugees in countries at war.

Delve into ancient Roman religion using this informational graphic organizer! Historical context begins with brief descriptions of the gods Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune. The images may lack authenticity here. They then read about how...

Students read through accounts of a teenage boy's use of a personal watercraft vehicle. They discuss the presented evidence and consider the varying details of the defendant, plaintiff and witnesses. They come to an agreement and state a...

Students examine the importance of speaking more than one language. They read and discuss an account written by a Peace Corps teacher in Ukraine, answer discussion questions, and discuss why English is taught in Ukraine.