Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...

A fun lesson plan that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is...

Explore connections within and between informational texts with this instructional activity about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine...

What is really the best way to get rid of hiccups? Investigate some old wives' tales and folk remedies related to health. Middle schoolers explore the science behind why people might believe these myths to be true and find the real...

How are disasters addressed by the Federal Government? This New York Times lesson, based on the article "Disaster Aid: The Mix of Mercy and Politics," prompts middle schoolers to discuss the idea of using a disaster declaration as a...

Students imagine and describe fictitious sea animals that might live in the ocean. After reading an article, they reflect on new discoveries found in the ocean recently. Using the internet, they research the interdependence of animals...

Get a global perspective and examine the challenges facing Mahmoud Abbas, the newly elected president of the Palestinian Authority. Thoughtful classroom citizens write letters to Mr. Abbas, asking him questions and suggesting advice....

Explore this story involving prejudice and racism to enhance learners' comprehension skills. The story The Jacket by Andrew Clements involves an African American boy who is falsely accused of stealing someone's jacket. This teacher's...

Students analyze the meanings and patterns of a folk tale. They respond in their reading journals to the following prompts: How do you feel about the way "The Talking Goat" ended? Why? Which did you like better: your group's predicted...

Students look at pictures of Canstruction sculptures, then read a news article about the construction of these canned food sculptures. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with pictures of winning sculptures...

Learners develop an understanding of monetary policy. In this monetary policy lesson, students define economic indicators and specify the economic conditions they reflect. Learners explain the three functions of the system and play a...

Teach and taught, learn and learned! Work with your class on the past tense with some guided practice and a game. As a class, match the present tense verbs with their past tense counterparts. Learners then split off into pairs to play...

Become a money maniac with a fun set of worksheets about budgeting! Kids read about how to save, earn, budget, and borrow money, and fill out their own budget and expenses.

Why didn't the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves? Young historians study primary source documents including Lincoln's proclamation and the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Groups also investigate the three...

Secondary etymologists assign synonyms and antonyms to six English words based on the Latin roots fin, sed, and fer. MyVocabulary.com ranks this as beginner-level, but the work is challenging. A 24-item word bank provides two acceptable...

A fun and challenging vocabulary exercise that focuses the learner's attention on word root meanings, this crossword puzzle would make a great homework or sponge activity. Pupils are provided with 12 clues and they must come up with...

MyVocabulary.com features three levels of words for each root; this fill-in-the-blanks quiz contains a word bank of beginner vocabulary containing the roots cern/cer/cre, jur/jus, and leg. You can print it out, or your learners can take...

A problem set explores how an international crisis could affect the economic health of Canada using authentic materials from College Board. Other questions ask learners to create and evaluate supply and demand curves and examine factors...

Learners fill in the blanks for 12 sentences with words derived from the Latin roots dict, vent, and duct in an interactive online quiz. A word bank provides choices from the beginning level at MyVocabulary.com. Alert quiz takers that...

Students construct sentences using nouns and verbs from a "renewable energy" word bank. In this cross curriculum ecology and sentence structure grammar and mechanics lesson, students listen to the book Our Earth: Clean Energy by Peggy...

Examine recent events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Three lessons, multiple excerpts, evaluation questions, and activities are all included to make your class globally aware.

Young scholars play a micro-finance game. in this global economy lesson, students play a game that assists them in concepts of micro-finance. Young scholars will also watch a business development video and explore additional resources.

Learners predict how a pandemic would affect aspects of South Africa's society. In this world issues and geography lesson, students read a letter outlining the problems affecting South Africa. Learners discuss and analyze how resource...

Kindergarteners discuss emotions and social skills as the start to this lesson. Then they demonstrate what emotions they feel while participating in a role play. This lesson plan also calls for group work in which learners show...