Prepare your readers for Briar Rose with an Anticipation Guide that asks them to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect issues raised by Jane Yolen’s narrative about a young girl’s research into her grandmother’s...

Before your high schoolers embark on the journey of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, provide them with this prereading activity. Independently, they respond to seven statements that connect with the novel. For example, they must decide if...

Friendship, family, and violence are the subjects of an anticipation guide designed to accompany Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel, Freak the Mighty. Individuals complete the included guide, discuss their responses in groups, and then...

Is falling in love easy or hard? Challenge your class to consider seven statements about love and relationships before reading Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Then, as you work your way through the play, revisit the sheet to record...

Although labeled an anticipation guide, this plan is designed to be used about 22 pages into Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. A guide is provided with 10 statements. As they read each one, they mark whether or not they agree and whether...

Really? Rapping The Odyssey? Really. A discussion of the oral tradition of story telling and its links to Epic poetry sets the stage for a series of activities that encourage improvisation to integrate music into other classrooms....

Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...

Activate your pupils' thinking before reading chapter five of Ordinary People. Learners decide whether they agree or disagree with six statements and discuss their ideas in small groups. They then read chapter five and determine...

Prior to reading Tolkien's The Hobbit, class members respond to a series of statements in an anticipation guide that introduces many of the central concepts of the novel.

Jackie Robinson's attempt to earn a spot on the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers provides learners with an opportunity to examine the Jim Crow laws and revisit issues of segregation and integration. "The Unconquerable Doing the Impossible: Jackie...

Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...

Explore reading comprehension and child safety in this young adult literacy instructional activity. High schoolers practice using context clues to figure out word meanings after observing a teacher model this process. They read an...

Class groups collaborate to produce the storyboard for their video project. After determining the sequence of scenes, the camera angles, and characters in each scene, each group member is assigned a number of scenes to illustrate. When...

Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...

Several subjects are addressed within the context of a science lesson about the sun's ultraviolet rays. Elementary earth scientists consider protection of the skin with sunscreens (health), estimating and measuring surface area or an...

Clever! In order to compare indoor and outdoor dispersal rates for the movement of gases and particles through air, collaborators will participate in a classroom experiment. Set up a circular grid and set young scholars on lines that are...

With a partner, youngsters measure their pulse and breathing rates, both at rest and after running in place for a minute. While this activity is not novel, the lesson plan includes a large-scale classroom graphing activity and other...

Using paper chromatography, water watchers discover that several substances might be dissolved even though they aren't visible. In this case, you will prepare a mixture of three different food colorings for them to experiment with. A...

Grab your feathers and your hat! And perhaps some macaroni! It's time to investigate the evolution of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Groups do a close reading of sheet music covers, lyrics, and even YouTube videos to see how this political song...

The six instructional shifts in this workshop definitely move math and science teachers' understanding of instruction. The workshop, 13th out of a series of 15, asks participants to examine sample tests and to look at how the six...

Small groups place sand and ice in a covered box, place the box in the sunlight, then observe as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation occur. These models serve as miniature water cycles and demonstrations of the three phases of...

First graders identify Monet as an Impressionist artist. They create impressions of trees and bushes, paint with sponges, and mix tints and shades. They create impressions of flowers with q-tip dabbing and mixing tints and shades.

Students engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of main...