Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...

"How come there's no ending?" After a close reading of Frank R. Stockton's tale "The Lady, or the Tiger?" in which scholars examine each of the main characters' conflicts and motivations, writers craft their own ending using textual...

Does any word rhyme with orange? Young poets try their hand at crafting a Shakespearean sonnet by first creating list of rhyming words. They then examine the use of unstressed and stressed syllables in iambic pentameter and the rhyme...

Two stories by Roald Dahl, "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Landlady" provide readers an opportunity to compare stories by the same author. After a close reading of the stories, teams select a character from one of the tales, craft...

Victor Laredo's painting "On the Beach" and Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "Thanksgiving" allow young scholars to use their noticing skills. Class members identify elements of the painting the artist uses to create the feeling of...

To appreciate the oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, scholars examine the rhetorical devices and influences that make the speech so famous. They examine background information, conduct a close reading of the...

As part of a study of how writers structure their text so that readers understand events, class members do a close reading of "Is It Lawful to Make Slaves of Others Against Their Will?" a chapter in Aronson and Budhos' Sugar Changed the...

Bubble, bubble, boil and trouble! What causes common substances like baking soda and vinegar to react the way they do? Welcome your junior chemists to the wonders of acid-base chemistry using a comprehensive and fun...

Improving listening comprehension skills is the goal of this language arts lesson. Young readers listen to the story Two Greedy Bears, stopping to have discussions with a partner. They predict outcomes and make inferences based on...

Lilly Martin Spencer's "Peeling Onions" is the subject of a series of exercises that model for learners how to use the elements of art to read a painting. A series of worksheets focus viewers' attention on how Spencer uses...

Your eyes each work independently, so how do we only see one image? The quick hands-on experiment encourages young scientists to test their blind spots on each eye individually. After learning where the blind spot is and why it exists,...

Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...

What does it mean to be a rescuer during the time of the Holocaust? Learners consider the role of those who resisted the Nazi invasions, including hiding Jewish people, throughout Europe. Activities include listening to the testimony of...

Throughout 15 lessons, scholars explore four and five-sound and rhyming words, closely examining initial and final consonant sounds, and begin reading the text independently. Each lesson follows a similar routine; an introduction to...

Get close up and personal with a drop of water to discover how the polarity of its molecules affect its behavior. Elementary hydrologists split and combine water droplets, and also compare them to drops of oil. Much neater than placing a...

A thorough lesson introduces learners to Hans Christian Andersen, the nineteenth-century author who created wonderful tales. They read the original texts of several of his stories, including "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid,"...

Students draw on their previous studies of American history and culture as they analyze primary sources from Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s - 1960s in American Memory. A close reading of two documents relating to...

In this grade 2 reading quiz, 2nd graders complete a 23 question multiple choice quiz covering a variety of grade 2 reading concepts. Answers may be submitted on-line.

Students examine adjusting and closing entries for a partnership set up as a merchandising business. They participate in a game and online activities, read handouts, complete an outline, and take a quiz.

O, that these too, too obscure words would resolve themselves into modern English! High school scholars are asked to do a close reading of Hamlet’s first soliloquy (I, ii) and recast these famous lines into contemporary speech, identify...

Pupils compare the temperature change in a closed and open box as a demonstration of the greenhouse effect. 

In this grade 5 reading test, 5th graders complete a 24 question multiple choice quiz covering a variety of grade 5 concepts. 

Students use magnifiers and telescopes to view things close up. In this magnifiers and telescopes lesson plan, students use the tools to identify things that are close and far away. Students tell details of things they can see closer.

Create a cross-curricular learning experience based on the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat with this collection of learning activities. Starting with a class reading of the story, children go on to learn about the...