“What do you think life is like at the South Pole?” After responding to this journal prompt, class members read and discuss the New York Times article, “At South Pole, New Home for a New Era.” Using resources available from the Times’...

Research guidelines for correct usage, then explore how creative writers employ punctuation as an essential tool in their craft. Secondary classes create board games to teach elementary school students how to properly punctuate. From the...

A getting-to-know-you activity that is perfect for the beginning of the year! Kids craft their portrait out of clay, then make a mobile by dangling ceramic representations of things they love. This project builds self-awareness, motor...

A fossil is worth a thousand words! Individuals craft their own amber fossil of an insect in addition to molds and casts of seashells. A third activity takes the lesson a notch higher: Learners measure stride lengths between tracks and...

  Wake up, sleepy head! High schoolers craft a creative presentation that represents how they feel when they wake up on a school morning. After the presentations, a reading of Academic Sleep Times and Academic Performance launches a...

Here's a fresh approach that combines research, business and personal letter writing, and creative story telling. Student groups research different decades in the life of a famous Japanese astronomer. They then craft a decade fact sheet,...

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

Full of good information and photos from the 1700's to the 2004 election, this powerpoint could be a great resource in a lecture about American nationalism. While the slides require commentary and smooth transitions (as well as a little...

How do core values and identity contribute to citizenship and leadership? After engaging in a series of activities that explore core values, writers craft a children’s story that focuses on one value. They arrange to read their story to...

Although the article that launches this instructional activity is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and...

A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...

Should schools continue to teach cursive writing? After reading and considering the merits of a series of arguments on both sides of this proposition, class members choose a side of the issue and craft their own argument, drawing support...

Readers of To Kill a Mockingbird summarize events, identify characters, and analyze actions in the first 11 chapters of Harper Lee’s novel. The carefully crafted questions could be used to guide reading or as the basis of group or...

Explore character, plot, and setting through dramatic puppet play. Second graders discuss basic story elements and then practice making a character with their sock puppets. After they've crafted a dynamic puppet, they pair up to create a...

“When a great truth once gets abroad in the world, no power on earth can imprison it, or prescribe its limits, or suppress it.” These words come from Frederick Douglass’ April, 1888 speech to the International Council of Women. One of...

"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...

Should schools impose community service graduation requirements? In the final lesson of the Drafting Board series, learners solidify their practice of crafting an argument supported by sound reason and evidence.

Imagine calling a truce in the middle of a war, singing Christmas carols with the enemy, exchanging gifts, and playing a game of football. Such a thing actually happened. Class members listen the stories of soldiers who experienced...

Our town is a very, very fine town. Kids craft a short paragraph about their town, its size, location, interesting features, and climate. The template even provides room for pictures or illustrations.

"I'd like to thank the members of the academy . . ." Kids craft an acceptance speech in which they identify what the award is for, their qualifications, and how they feel about being the recipient.

Young writers craft the story of a special summer day, detailing the event and why the day was so memorable.

Middle schoolers demonstrate their ability to summarize by crafting a summary of a passage from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oh that Dickens should be so laconic.

Ethos, pathos, and logos. After reading a passage about Aristotle's, three basic tools of persuasion, individuals answer a series of multiple choice comprehension questions and craft responses to three short-answer essay prompts.

After reading a series of primary source documents detailing the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, class members craft newspaper columns assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each man's vision, and present their...