Explore New England's economic and cultural past and possible issues New Englanders will face in the future. Middle and high schoolers research the fishing industry and the need for regulation. They analyze the topography of New England...

So many people fought for Civil Rights in the United States. Read about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and discuss what the act guarantees. Then pass out a slew of magazines and encourage them to observe how often minorities appear in...

Sometimes explaining an argument can lead to confusion and miscommunication. Narrow down the details in written arguments with a group activity in which learners pretend to be aliens from another planet, struggling to understand each...

A STEM project-based learning lesson, number four in a series of 10, focuses on human impacts to biomes around the world. Groups work together as environmentalists to research a specific biome, investigating human impacts on it. From...

Excite classes with a STEM project-based learning lesson covering chemical reactions. Groups study the different types through simulations and hands-on activities. They pick one type (synthesis, decomposition, single displacement, double...

For classes tackling To Kill a Mockingbird, this lesson plan sets readers up for discussions or essay writing with questions and prompts. The prompts encourage individuals to explore beyond the novel itself, looking at...

Ads here, ads there, ads everywhere—but what do they communicate? Pupils discuss this topic and develop a list of personal values. They then work as creative directors at an advertising firm to create billboards that reflect community...

What is Internet fraud? Explore Internet ethics and engage in a collaborative discussion. In order to create a Guide to Internet Honesty, learners read and discuss the article "A Beautiful Life, A Tragic Death, a Fraud Exposed." Then...

Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...

Take your class on an electronic field trip to Spain! Visit Cordoba or Barcelona, and run with the bulls (virtually) in Pamplona. Groups search the Internet to find sites that permit them to explore the original Spanish-speaking country....

Scholars use technology to explore poetry and its related elements, such as theme, figures of speech, and other literary devices. They complete four poetry projects including a poem analysis with a concept web, an interactive poem...

Following brief instruction about the Iran Hostage Crisis during Jimmy Carter's presidency, small groups read three-page sections from the diary of hostage Robert C. Ode. They write editorials from the perspective of either U.S. citizens...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

What is an advocate? Help high schoolers understand the issues forcing refugees to leave their home country. After gaining some information on the subject, high schoolers create a dynamic presentation and persuasive essay encouraging...

Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...

Make sure pupils have the skills to move on to the second half of the module with a mid-module assessment task. The formative assessment instrument checks student learning before moving on to the rest of the lessons in the unit.

Assess your young mathematicians' knowledge and understanding of the properties of exponents. The questions in the seventh lesson of 15 incorporate the properties learned in the first six modules of this series. Individuals use and apply...

It's time to put the plan into practice. Using their plans from the previous lesson, scholars create multimedia and visual displays for their opinion speeches. Next, they watch videos of speeches and use a presentation rubric to evaluate...

Read and repeat. Scholars repeat the strategies for digging deeper into text from lesson two. This time they focus on Middle Ages Excerpt 2. Learners write unfamiliar words in the word catcher and use details from the text to add to the...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson plan about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...

It's time to refine writing and word choice. Learners work on Part 1 of their end of unit assessment by creating an essay titled What Makes a Hurricane a Natural Disaster? They use glossaries and graphic organizers from previous...

Graphing all kinds of situations in one and two variables is the focus of this detailed unit of daily lessons, teaching notes, and assessments. Learners start with piece-wise functions and work their way through setting up and solving...

Students make a poster. In this values lesson, students read the Preamble to the Constitution and discuss the core democratic values that are found there and in the Declaration of Independence. Students are each assigned a core...