Educate your learners on the importance of using bio-diesel as an alternative transportation fuel. Provided here are several links to books (with reviews), a 24-page informational text in three reading levels, a corn activity, and...

A biography writing lesson with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...

Readers identify the author's purpose. First, they read a passage and utilize details from the piece to determine the author's purpose. Then they will explain how they arrived at their conclusion. Links to materials are provided.

Joey Alphonso made up this game, which is played using a gator skin ball and a tennis racket on a basketball court. The simple rules and strategy of the game are explained. This is a high-scoring, run around activity. Everyone can...

This detailed lesson plan from New York Times' The Learning Network centers around Carroll Academy and its girl's basketball team. Learners compare their school to Carroll Academy, read anywhere from 1 to 5 engaging articles about the...

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a perfect text for an age of fake news and alternative facts. And what better way to introduce a new generation of readers to George Orwell's dystopian classic than with a reader's theatre version of the tale. The...

W. W. Jacobs' horror story, "The Monkey's Paw," is used to introduce foreshadowing. As they advance through the story, young readers make predictions about what might happen next and how the story might end. Pairs work through the...

Students explore and discuss alternative energy sources, and identify disadvantages of current fossil fuels.

Readers write a formal letter to an author offering an alternative ending to a story the author has written. First, the class reads a story or novel. Upon finishing the reading, they are introduced to the format of a formal letter. They...

Here's an alternative to a traditional book report for your class to demonstrate that they understand and can articulate the main character's evolution and the social themes presented in Voltaire's satirical novel Candide. Your young...

Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage provides the text for a reading comprehension activity that asks class members to develop questions based on the novel.

Learning to summarize texts takes practice. Jump into the training ring and guide your learners through a summarizing practice session. The classic direct instructional practice of "I do, you do, we do" is used to help them identify key...

Fourth graders use a digital camera to take pictures of other students demonstrating good FCAT test-taking tips. They compile the pictures into a movie and add text and voiceovers to describe the test-taking tips.

Incorporate technological fluency with a search for examples of active and passive voice in online resources. Discuss how use of active or passive voice influences mood or tone and contributes to author's purpose. List of...

Use the list-group-label strategy to introduce your class to In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The teacher begins by writing a word on the board (dictatorship is suggested here), and then the kids write as many words...

Add a challenge for your young mathematicians' adventures in double-digit addition. Instead of simply computing sums in the 9 problems, they work backwards to fill in blanks among the addends. Resource makes a terrific extension or...

Students are able to use the library and/or computer lab to research reliable information sources supporting arguments being put forward in the position paper. They are able to find examples of mission statements from various...

Students complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Students choose a character from the story and...

Eighth graders interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Exploration Age lesson, 8th graders compare historical maps with new maps focusing on the route of Hernado de Soto.

Eleventh graders analyze the violence of media and advertising on women, as well as Gandhi's views of women. In this women and media lesson plan, 11th graders Killing Us Softly and Tough Guise as an analysis of media and advertising and...

Pupils play charades to act out vocabulary words that have recently been introduced in class.  In this vocabulary lesson students may work in groups or in pairs.

A project-based lesson has pupils create a bulletin board to share artwork, nonfiction articles, and messages based on social justice themes. The finished board is displayed in the community to create a place for discussion. 

Accompany a reading of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and Tell Me, Tree by Gail Gibbons with an activity packet designed to bring awareness to nature, specifically trees. Scholars take to the outside, draw lines to create trees reminiscent of...

Flotsam by David Wiesner and The Magic School Bus on the Ocean Floor by Joanna Cole, illustrated by Bruce Degen, begin a reading adventure pack focusing on oceans. With story listening and thoughtful discussion, scholars complete several...