Silly journal and essay prompts may be fun to write, but they don't model the kind of writing needed for college papers and standardized tests. The 15th part in a series of 24 covers the concept of reading to write—during and after...

Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The...

Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa man who made history when he reached the summit of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, is the focus of an informative article. Class members read about Norgay's perspective on the way up the mountain, the...

Scholars take a journey through space with 16 eye-catching images. Along the way, learners read captions starting with the moon, then move onto asteroids, Mars, and Jupiter.

Young environmentalists consider how scientists are attempting to save endangered species. They read about what causes extinction and steps to take to minimize the threats. 

A degree in communications incorporates disciplines such as business, law, and media as well. A writing handout offers prospective communications majors information about what kind of assignments to expect in a typical course....

Media lovers read articles on a variety of current events with a website made especially for kids. The website is easy to navigate and includes sections about everything from science to sports.

Get ready for an explosive lesson! Learners read and interact with an online lesson describing the characteristics of volcanoes. They study specific historical volcanoes as well as the science of volcanic eruptions using animations and...

There is a scallop that relies on sight so much that it actually has more than 100 eyes! There are many species that rely heavily on one sense or another. An online interactive resource has youth read about several of these animals. The...

An engaging interview allows scholars to get to know Proto Andy, a protoceratops fossil. Following along with the transcript, learners delve into six questions, including how he became a fossil, what he was like when he was alive, and...

Follow along as Stella Stardust interviews the sun. A fun and informative interview provides scholars with information about the sun. 

Challenging pupils' perspectives by having them walk in the shoes of the reader. An informative resource discusses how to identify an audience and anticipate their needs before writing an upcoming argumentative essay. 

This program from Voice of America, The Making of a Nation, presents events in American history. This segment begins with a review of the Eisenhower administration as a background to the campaign and election of 1960. Read or listen to...

Read and fill in the blanks of this passage explaining habitats where plants and animals live. Each blank has a dropdown menu with choices. When you finish, click CHECK MY ANSWERS. If you pick a wrong answer, the right answer will be...

The outcome of the popular vote for president in 1896 was close. Read about the electoral votes, see maps showing the popular vote for McKinley and Bryan, and follow the chart that shows the votes for all those running for president....

Find close readings, critical interpretations, and personal responses to the works of key 20th-century playwrights and practitioners, including Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Shelagh Delaney, and Timberlake Wertenbaker.

Discover close readings, critical interpretations, and personal responses to Shakespeare's sonnets, the poetry of John Donne, and more.

Initial focus by the Americans in World War II was containing Germany. Read about the Allied war stategy to "close the ring" and deprive Germany of men and materiel.

This site is an online lesson plan exchange on "Corduroy" by Don Freeman.

In October 1962, Americans "peered into the abyss of nuclear destruction". Investigate how America got this close to nuclear war by reading the following summary, answering critical thinking questions, using the bibliography for further...

This site from the National Portrait Gallery explores presidential actions during the Cold War. Click on Dwight D. Eisenhower to see how the Cold War was developing and being handled during his presidency. Find out about the Communist...

A television documentary from Idaho Public Television that recreates the trial of Big Bill Haywood, leader of the Western Federation of Miners, charged with hiring a hit man to kill an Idaho ex-governor. Read about how he was captured,...

President Lyndon B. Johnson was a truly progressive president at the beginning of his term of office. Read about all the programs started under his watch that attempted to better the lives of all Americans, especially those who lived in...

Read about the campaign and election of 1960 in which the Democratic candidate, Senator John F. Kennedy, ran against the Repbulican candidate, Vice-President Richard M. Nixon. Find out about the issues, the famous debates, and Kennedy's...