Question what you read with a lesson based on Bloom's Taxonomy. As kids read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, they formulate questions with cues from a graphic organizer, and answer them to work on critical...

The New York Times' Learning Network provides great lessons! This one uses articles from the paper to help readers understand homonyms like mail (verb and noun). It also includes an exercise in reading informational text. Links to the...

Each group is assigned a character to play in a mock debate. They read the provided materials, build an argument, and then debate their points of view as their perspective character. The debate focuses on ensuring equality for...

Using a Florida map from 1597, young explorers consider the physical characteristics they would need in a site for a new colony and the resources they would need to survive. After selecting a site, class members research to discover the...

A mouse on a motorcycle—what could possibly go wrong? Using the novel study that accompanies Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle, pupils complete a brief vocabulary activity and then answer questions about the text. Next,...

What do wizards smell like? A novel study for Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy walks readers through chapter one to help them answer the question. Scholars also practice vocabulary from the chapter and invent original similes.

Find any article about the genetic research of Thomas Hunt Morgan on the sex-linked eye color trait in Drosophila melanogaster. After having your class read the selection, they can answer these eight critical-thinking questions. This is...

Where would society be without the innovations of Thomas Edison or Steve Jobs? Scholars explore what it means to have an innovative mindset. Working in small groups, pupils design a product or service to help solve a social,...

What led to the fall of Rome? Scholars have debated the question since the end of the great empire. Young historians consider the same question through an economic lens using an engaging lesson that involves a hands-on evaluation of the...

An essential skill for 21st-century learners is to know how to find reliable sources of information. Two activities help high schoolers learn how to determine the reliability of health-related news from websites, TV, magazines, or...

From scarcity and supply and demand to entrepreneurship and the stock market, here you'll find a multiple-choice assessment that includes 34 questions covering all the major concepts of a traditional economics course. 

Why was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 so important? The reading in the resource discusses how the act affected Southerners, Northerners, and the slaves themselves. Scholars complete the reading as a form of direct instruction while...

Moldy canned goods, exploding ketchup, and filthy conditions: These were some of the issues the reformers of the Progressive Era targeted with legislation such as the Pure Food and Drug Act. Using images of food factories and documents...

Why is it important to vote? Who is eligible to vote? Why is it that some eligible voters do not vote? Class members conduct interviews with adults and other school mates before researching the eligibility requirements for their state,...

There are lots of good reasons not to smoke. Make sure your middle and high schoolers understand each and every one with a lesson that prompts them to read anti-smoking posters, note the main points, and write a short response on the...

What elements make up a successful argument? A helpful resource describes aspects of an argument such as the claim, evidence, counterargument, and audience. Perfect as an individual assignment for a flipped lesson or collaborative work,...

Class members investigate congresswomen and the role these senators and representatives played in congress during the period from 1935–1954.

Teenage brains are different! Understanding that the teenage brain is still developing and thus more impacted by substance abuse is the key concept in a three-lesson high school health unit. Participants learn about how the brain and...

As part of their study of Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie, class groups examine passages from the story and respond to a series of QAR questions.

Students read article about student violence, discuss why it happens, and explore non-violent options.

To better understand that the intersection point of two lines lies inside a circle, learners use their keen measurement skills. They discuss arcs, rays, tangent lines, and reflex angles. Then, they put their skills to work as they...

Learners create marketing campaigns. In this technology skills lesson, students keep a log as they build prototypes of their inventions. Learners then script and record video commercials to sell the prototypes.

Learners imagine they are animals in the Palace Facade painting. In this Palace Facade lesson plan, students observe and discuss the geometric and organic shapes in the painting shown to them.

Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer...