How many people immigrate to Spain illegally each year? Both the United States and Spain see a lot of illegal immigration. Advanced learners will read various articles, compare and contrast the situation in both countries, and discuss...

Figures of speech, sensory details, and academic language are all targeted while reading Chapter Two of J. Ferris’ Go Free or Die. First, learners engage in an exercise to practice describing with detail. Then, partners use a...

Discover the science behind astronomy. After reading the book Maria's Comet, which is about a young woman who breaks new ground by becoming a female astronomer, young learners practice reading comprehension with...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

What items would most people want to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island? Using the novel study for The Swiss Family Robinson, scholars attempt to answer the question from their own perspectives. They also explore...

Learners practice listening to and reading various types of media and text. In groups, learners use video, newspapers, magazines, and more to compare and contrast different types of information. They identify the differences between fact...

This discussion guide accompanies the fiction book Midnight Magic written by Avi, enforces story elements, inferences, and theme/plot. Have the class work on it over time, it will engage even your reluctant readers. 

"Make new friends but keep the old" is a wise saying. However, True Son, a main character in The Light in the Forest, struggles doing just that. Once living among the white people, he was taken into an Indian tribe for several years....

Turtle, an 11-year-old girl in Turtle in Paradise, travels to Florida to live with her aunt. With the Great Depression all around her, Turtle safely hides within the shell she created around herself but soon opens up after the move....

"The Chase," a chapter from Annie Dillard's autobiography, details an iceball project the narrator and her friends used to play. After your class reads the chapter, give them this reading assessment. Provided here are five short-answer...

Here is a great secondary source reading that includes the primary ideas and philosophies of the famed Enlightenment philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In additional to discussing...

Lesson 19 in the series of 36 analyzes the element hydrogen and the s-block elements. Through readings, answering questions, and discussion, learners write about and explain their occurrence, physical and chemical properties, and...

What does it mean to be an American citizen? Lieutenant Colonel Commander William Barret Travis believed that it meant honor to country first—even above one's own life. Middle and high schoolers read his final letters from the Alamo that...

Examine a variety of literary responses to Abraham Lincoln's death and the impact of perception. Your class can work in writing groups to analyze either poetry, eulogy, or a newspaper article. They retell the events of Abraham Lincoln's...

For this compare/contrast worksheet, students read a sentence about 2 different items, then write how those 2 items are the same. One example is completed for students.

Students investigate their tracks to determine the number of footsteps it takes to travel the entire length of their bodies. Then they determine the taller of two children and the shorter of two children with their tracks. Students also...

Picture books aren't just for children; they carry strong, valuable messages for adult as well. Explore the audience for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with a lesson that compares picture books to literature...

Practice makes perfect. A practice test designed for the ELA MCAS Assessment gives seventh grade learners the opportunity to answer reading comprehension questions and respond to essay prompts. Questions involve general fiction and...

Student research and apply information about communities in Kansas. In this Kansas lesson, 3rd graders study ten communities in the state, complete a booklet, and compare the communities to their own. They use the information to design a...

Students analyze America's reaction to the Armenian Genocide. They write a journal response, read and discuss text, compare/contrast reactions around the world to the Armenian Genocide and the genocide in Rwanda, and write an essay.

Students, after an introduction to Shakespeare's "Othello," compare/contrast the themes in the play to today's society. In addition, they write their own script for the play of "Othello" based on predictions of what they think will...

Students explore the patterns of text structure to anticipate the kind of information that a reading might present. The instructional activity examines some of the components of reading writing and using nonfiction.

In this compare and contrast worksheet, students complete this graphic organizer by providing the similarities and differences of 2 social studies concepts.

Students examine the nature of culture, and compare/contrast various cultures and their artifacts and ceremonies. They develop a class list of artifacts, complete a worksheet, and create a poster or diorama describing an object that is...