This instructional activity asks young readers to predict what will happen to Harry Potter. While the question has been answered by the last book and film in the series, the concept and links provided by The New York Times’ Learning...

When Europeans first came back with tales of China, they provided vivid written accounts and minimal visual imput. This resulted in art rendered mostly from descriptive language. Learners explore this phenomena by listening to...

Explore objective and subjective writing in this interdisciplinary lesson, which brings language arts and visual art together. Middle and high school students examine the sculpture Head with Horns by Paul Gauguin. They then analyze the...

Expository writing is the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, young writers review what expository writing is through a class discussion and teacher demonstration. Then, learners write expository text that describes...

Is the spirit of peacebuilding already inside you? Scholars take a closer look at the characteristics of peacebuilders, past and present, in lesson 13 of a 15-part series. Individuals identify common traits of peacebuilders, then work...

How do the films we watch affect our purchasing behavior? Considering the profiles of given consumer demographics, the class analyzes real advertisements and the effectiveness of their power on consumerism. THey create posters that...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....

Research current and proposed peace talks around the world with this New York Times lesson, Using the Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria as a starting point, middle schoolers create a news program on the subject. They propose a future...

By role playing real-world experiences, such as purchasing snacks and grocery/toy store shopping, your youngsters will begin to develop an understanding of how to make decisions and choose between alternatives. This is the first...

Learning to be a savvy shopper can make or break the bank. Upper graders research five different cell phone carriers to see if they'll have enough money in their imaginary budget for a dream phone or a basic phone. They create either a...

Are you looking for a way to bring writing into your history lesson - or history into your writing lesson? This cross-curricular activity is helpful and fun, no matter what class you're teaching! Using "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" by the...

Here are 11 questions intended to guide learners as they read a New York Times article about the violence and conflict between Israel and Palestine. They can review the questions and then read the article to help answer them. A link to a...

A dollar bill, a check, a credit card, and... a cow? What exactly are the various forms of payment that exist today? Your learners will identify the three functions of money in this lesson. In addition, they will discover the most...

Guide high schoolers through the process of buying a house with a simulation lesson. As pupils learn about mortgages, renting versus buying, and home inspections, they discuss ways to make informed financial decisions and sound...

How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times activity to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...

The New York Times article “Online Diary,” launches this study of websites and how to assess them. Richly detailed, the lesson plan includes warm-up activities, procedures, journal prompts, discussion questions, and links to valuable...

Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...

Are history textbooks plagiarized? The New York Times article, “Schoolbooks Are Given F’s in Originality,” looks at this question and forms the basis for a lesson on textbooks and plagiarism. The very detailed plan includes resource...

As a cross-curricular instructional activity, your class examines the issues of gender discrimination, careers, and gender roles. They read and discuss an article, prepare a proof of the Pythagorean theorem as a class, and develop a...

Students, assessing a variety of formatting tools with Microsoft Word, utilize a bank of vocabulary words to make a personal dictionary of nouns. They classify nouns for people, places, things and ideas and separate them into common and...

Shed light on what antonyms, synonyms, and homophones are. In this lesson, upper elementary schoolers create pairs using an antonym, a homophone, and/or a synonym. Then they play an antonym matching game.

Transition words in writing are the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, learners cut out the word-sort cards (embedded in the plan), and put them into four categories: time, examples, space, and summary. They find a...

Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....

When teaching someone how to do something, it's important to give clear directions. Your youngsters can practice their skills by completing these worksheets meant to help learners describe the steps in a process. It's not just any...