Continue on. Scholars continue the research they began in their expert groups in lesson six. They read text and task cards from their research folders and share what they have gathered in research thus far. Individuals then spend the...

Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...

Be a team player. Scholars gather in their expert groups and discuss group norms and roles. They look at their research topics and determine how they will divide the work among themselves. Groups look over their research folders and ask...

The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...

Life may not be fair but working conditions should be. Scholars research working conditions at Wegmans by studying the company website. They complete a working conditions anchor chart and discuss their findings in a think-pair-share...

Rather than waiting for the world to change, encourage your class members to become agents of change with a project that asks groups to select an issue found in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America....

Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...

American women have been working toward equal rights since the ink dried on the Declaration of Independence. Focused on the words and actions of Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, and Venus Williams, a language arts lesson takes eighth...

Continue with creating documentaries with the fourth activity in a series. After explaining the concept of preproduction, send groups off to make some decisions about their films. Groups can use the handout and the four provided...

The Founding Fathers contributed to the United States in many ways. Class members explore various Founding Fathers through research, group work, and realia. The final product of group work are posters and artistic representations of...

Pupils work in expert research groups, reading an informational article about an invention and completing a note-catcher worksheet. Afterward, scholars work in triads to answer questions based on the text.

Ready, set, act! Using the fun resource, pupils patriciate in a vocabulary charades activity to practice key terms from the unit. Next, scholars work in expert research groups to read an article about the invention of the traffic signal...

Working in small groups, scholars continue reading an informational text about either Roberto Clemente or Althea Gibson. As they read, pupils create graphic organizers in their journals to help map their ideas logically. 

Go surfing for the facts. Scholars continue their work using their Digital Resources on DDT sheet to find information by searching websites. After collecting information, they mix and mingle to hear information discovered by classmates.

Let's ask an expert. Scholars divide into groups to research and become experts on either ants or butterflies. Learners use task cards and text on their topic to complete a note catcher. At the end, they share their information with a...

Class groups brainstorm the characteristics that make up a successful student before taking part in a whole class discussion. Assigned group roles promote member participation.

It's gameplan time! Journalism scholars create a social media plan based upon work completed in previous lessons. The activity, fifth in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series, focuses on using data and consensus to create an effective...

A valuable skills lesson for all grade levels and subject areas, encourage your learners to consider how they are spending their time throughout the day and offer tips for prioritizing and managing daily tasks. 

Here is a thoughtful group assignment for researching mental health disorders. Team members focus on a different aspect of a chosen disorder: symptoms, treatments, and community resources.

From picture to words. Scholars analyze a picture of an ant and then list two facts they observed and any questions that may arise. Expert groups from the previous instructional activity then look at a diagram about either an ant or...

A cross-curricular resource teaches and reinforces mathematical concepts with several activities that use parts of a newspaper. Scholars use scavenger hunts to find the different ways math is used in the paper along with using data...

Using a constructivist approach and a graphic organizer, small groups work together to begin a paper, comparing and contrasting the novella Night and the movie Life is Beautiful. Assuming that your learners have studied both of these...

Ready, set, write! Scholars work on the end-of-unit assessment by completing a writing prompt. They then look at the model performance task from instructional activity two to create a rubric for scoring the exercise. Using turn and talk,...

Back to the drawing board. Scholars work on the visual to complement their claim presentations using the Criteria for the Cascading Consequences Chart Visual as a guide. They then practice their presentations with partners.