To gain a better understanding of characters in Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, kids create a biopoem for one of her characters.

How well do your learners really know the characters in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising? A biopoem activity prompts readers to investigate the characters and their traits. Line by line, writers add the characters'...

As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.

How can you tell what point of view a narrator is using, and why does it matter when reading or writing? Use a handy flow chart to determine whether or not your narrator is telling the story from a first or third person point of view.

The National Women's History Museum provides a plan designed to accompany their online CyberExhibit, Chinese American Women; a History of Resilience and Resistance. After examining a series of primary and secondary source documents,...

Many teenagers struggle with resolving conflicts with peers, friends, or family members. Here's a form that can guide them through the steps they need to take to identify the problem, their contribution to the problem, and their...

Is Luke Skywalker the archetype of a literary hero? Follow the path of the Hero's Journey with an engaging instructional activity that details the plot structure, applies it to Star Wars: A New Hope, and invites class members to...

When you look at me, what do you see? Young learners answer this question by creating a portrait that reflects the identity of one of their peers. First, class members create interview questions. Then, they interview classmates to...

Increasing pressure to improve student achievement has made it easy to overlook the social skills they also need to develop. With this collection of worksheets and activities, you'll be able to improve children's...

Explore characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through biopoems. Pupils follow the specific formatting presented here to write 11-line poems about characters in the novel.

"It was a dark and stormy night. Perfect for making Christmas cookies." Distinguishing between the mood of a piece and the tone can be tricky, but with the help of this presentation viewers quickly see and are able to identify the...

Halloween isn't fun for everyone — but playing together is! Read about Esme and her space pirate friend with a short reading passage, accompanied by ten short answer questions.

What is your body saying that maybe your words aren't? Scholars explore the vast world of the subtle, and not-so-subtle, nonverbal communication cues through group and individual work. Lesson seven in a series of peacebuilding exercises...

Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...

Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...

Six powerful and eyeopening lessons provide scholars with activities designed to challenge stereotypes and discrimination. The unit provides reading material with which pupils read and discuss. Grand conversations lead to physically...

Phrenology, the belief that parts of your brain control certain aspects of your personality, is described in Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. While we now know much more about the brain, learners use this...

Get to know your scholars with this in-depth survey that asks learners to rate, answer true or false, write short answers, and draw abstract visuals about their academic and personal preferences.

What goes into a friendship salad? Kids find out as they create a fruit salad made of all the important parts of a successful classroom (helpers, listeners, hard workers, sharing, and encouraging words). Don't let that rotten banana in,...

Here's a handy two-page reference that briefly identifies major Greek and Roman mythological figures.

A verb is something you do — but can you always see the action? Use a slideshow presentation to clarify the differences between verbs that describe actions, and verbs that describe senses, preferences, and emotions.

Measure health as a triangle, with each side representing different aspects of health: physical, emotional/mental, and social. High schoolers complete a self-assessment of their health in all three areas before scoring their progress and...

Did I hear you right? You need a great activity on active listening? Through large- and small-group activities, learners differentiate between poor and excellent listening skills. The resource, 7th in a series of 15, focuses on active...

Conflict is everywhere—but is it avoidable? The first activity in a series of 15 peacebuilding lessons examines the nature of conflict at home, school, and across the world. Learners develop a definition of conflict through group work...