Review story elements with your class. They will use examples from a story to develop critical-thinking questions. Then they use a graphic organizer to describe the setting, character, and plot of the story, focusing on how they...

While somewhat dated (students write letters to President George W. Bush about the Iraq War), this lesson could be a good way to reinforce rhetorical reading and critical thinking. Students examine information regarding Operation Iraqi...

Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Learners explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...

Your 9th - 12th graders can hone their analysis and critical thinking skills by studying the way a subject is portrayed across media types. They examine how various print, visual, and online sources have portrayed key players in the 9/11...

Seventh grade math is so much fun! They solve 10 different problems that include using patterns to complete a table, describe the pattern, and identify the specific term in the pattern for each. Then they give a description of the...

Students recognize the provisions of federal Indian policy.  In this Federal Indian Policy lesson, students research legal documents (treaties).  Students research the Montana tribes. Students answer critical thinking questions...

Young social historians examine immigration debates of the early 20th century through primary sources, such as political cartoons. They analyze the material, discuss their findings, and complete a critical thinking worksheet. All...

What does your class want to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest? Host a discussion about the questions high schoolers have about the play with a KWHL activity in which they write down their inquiries, what they...

The activity really comes to life within its intended unit on starting a rain garden. Working in groups, participants research native plants and coordinate them with the conditions in the designated garden area. Give the class access to...

An excellent activity using word problems where pupils interpret and compute quotients of fractions. The commentary includes using a fraction bar model and equations to represent the problem. In this variation of the resource, the...

Challenge the addition skills of young learners with this open-ended math problem. The task is simple, get from start to finish by connecting a series of three numbers. The trick is that the sum of the numbers must be less than...

Take two days to examine the symbolism inherent in color, and how this relates to Lois Lowry's The Giver. Small groups first discuss the meaning of colors and then come together as a class to explore the impact of color. The activities...

Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...

Gardening is fun, no matter what you're growing. A reading comprehension activity encourages learners to compare and contrast two gardens that grow different items.

Have you ever been so excited to talk that you interrupted another person? Help young conversationalists wait their turn to speak with a social skills activity. 

Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death" provides high schoolers with an opportunity to practice their critical thinking skills. They examine the images, diction, rhythm, and rhyme scheme the poet uses and consider how...

Sink into an interactive learning experience about subduction zones! Junior oceanographers examine the earth-shaking and earth-making effects of subduction in the fourth installment in a 13-part series. Hands-on activities include...

Who needs luck when you've got grammar skills? Celebrate St. Patrick's Day in language arts class with a fun coloring activity that prompts young readers to color all adjective sections green.

How are short stories from South Africa connected to issues of civil rights in the United States? A unit plan uses South African short stories to discuss issues such as apartheid, colonization, and civil rights. Questions and activities...

How did the Supreme Court apply the Fourteenth Amendment to cases involving working people? Learn all about labor rights in a resource that focuses on the liberty of contract and protections for workers. Scholars complete handouts that...

As the saying goes, you are what you eat. A useful set of lesson plans encourage young readers to take a second look at their eating habits. Pre- and post-reading questions bring in reflective writing and discussion while extension...

Was bombing German cities an effective means to an end, or was it a war crime? Could it be both? Young historians ponder these questions with an activity that prompts them to use primary sources to summarize the debate surrounding RAF...

Karen Russell's short story "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" has a unique structure that adds value to the story. With the fourteenth activity in a unit about literary analysis and textual support, analyze how Russell has...