Paul Langan's novel The Bully is the core text in a six-session unit plan that engages high schoolers in an in-depth examination of bullying and its effects on bullies, victims, and bystanders. The richly textured and carefully...

Practice using the Turn the Question Around (TQA) method to answer reading comprehension questions based on short narrative paragraphs. Instructions and materials are included for direct, guided, and independent instruction. Responses...

Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are...

Peers can exert tremendous pressure that can lead to positive and negative consequences. To conclude the Risky Business unit, class members create a Personal Safety Plan. They list things or situations that cause stress, things they have...

Like Oskar, the curious boy in Jonathan Safran Foer’s story, class members journey through other “stories that the mouth can’t tell” to find another sentence that uses a word found in novel. Individuals create their own vocabulary list,...

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

Offer young scholars strategies for dealing with bullies with help from BrainPop Jr.'s favorite characters, Annie and Moby. Youngsters watch a video, take part in a grand conversation, and play a game designed to reinforce...

Stop, Think, Act, Review! Scholars use the STAR method to role play two conflict resolution scenarios about childhood problems such as jealousy or cheating. Then, the larger group judges each case to determine if the compromise is a...

Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, record what they know, what they want to know, how the will find answers to the questions, on a KWHL chart.

Readers of Neal Shusterman's young adult science fiction novel, Unwind, engage in a silent discussion, posting their responses to a series of statements about characters in the story.

Even first graders can be exposed to good reading strategies and comprehension skills. The teacher demonstrates how to read informational text, look at the questions, reread the text, locate answer, then locate supporting details to...

What exactly does make life worth living? In preparation for a fishbowl discussion of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, readers of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel highlight sections that show a character grieving, coping, or suffering...

Third graders review the importance of good study habits as a skill necessary for success in school. They focus on their goals and discuss how this would help to improve grades. They determine how much an F weighs their grade down.

Learners categorize studenT toys by intelligence types. They review toy safety and function and identify the appropriate play age of various toys. They read and evaluate studenT books and write one of their own.

Learners compare and contrast sine and cosine graphs in order to describe their characteristics in a collaborative activity. As they explain their reasoning, learners strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills associated with...

Elementary schoolers practice the skill of non-fiction writing. They study aspects of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, and write an essay which describes the tower and it's fascinating history. The article about the tower is included in...

Twelfth graders summarize a speaker's purpose and point of view. In this speaker's purpose instructional activity, 12th graders watch a video clip from one of the major morning news programs to observe the speaker's point of views....

Bloom's Taxonomy is a great way to address the many levels of comprehension. With explanations and examples of each level, you can create questions that focus on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Learners can chart what they know, what they would like to know, how they plan to learn, and what they have learned from Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Using questions about women's rights, kids study the themes of the novel...

Enrich your unit on Arthur Miller's The Crucible with a list of reading questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy. Kids answer questions and provide context for the knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and...

Readers of Wuthering Heights use the DRTA strategy to formulate predictions about the actions of characters in Bronte's novel.

Learners discover how to use a digital camera and how to make a PowerPoint presentation. They practice good listening skills and hear how to make a "Supa Dupa Egg." They take notes and use them to create an effective, step-by-step...

Tween find out what it means to give and get respect. After reviewing the Recipe for Relationships studied in a previous lesson, groups create a dramatization of two-minute scenario in which an individual behaves inappropriately in a...

A good story is a great way to support skills that are necessary for encouraging strong reading skills. Here is a class I do, You do, We do style instructional activity that stars the tale, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain. Included are two...