Poems carved into the wooden walls of the Asian immigrant prisons on Angel Island provide upper elementary graders an opportunity to study not only the story behind the poems but to also focus on the figurative language employed by the...

Study the eight slides that detail the steps to writing a research report. The steps include brainstorming for ideas, constructing graphic organizers, and writing the final research product. An example of each step is given on each...

What a great beginning-of-the-year activity! Get your class to identify their values through a three-page worksheet (included). Each speaker will craft a two-minute description that includes their story and how they can help their...

Looking for ways to include your class members in Autism Awareness Month? Use a packet that provides several opportunities to include the student body in an important campaign. 

Readers draw connections between Bud, Not Buddy and Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford University commencement address and cite evidence from the two texts to support their analysis.

The first lesson plan in a unit that uses Christopher Paul Curtis' award-winning depression-era novel, Bud, Not Buddy, as the anchor text establishes the routines that will be used throughout the unit.

Finding the central idea in a text can be as simple as deciphering the correct pieces of supporting evidence. As your class reads Stage 4 of "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell, they analyze the interactions...

Just like in real life, characters in short stories show their true personalities through their words and deeds. Decipher the character development in Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a set of activities...

The intricate craft of narrative writing can make a happy story feel exuberant or a sad story feel devastating. With 42 extensive lessons that include poignant discussion questions, standards-aligned self-reflections, engaging writing...

The second module in a series for high school seniors focuses on tracking the central idea of a text across genres and from multiple author and character perspectives. Twelfth graders read a speech by Benazir Bhutto entitled "Ideas Live...

Gun, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond is a seminal work of historical nonfiction from the late 20th century. Use the author's claims and supporting evidence to guide your high school seniors through their research project, culminating...

Wrap up your literary analysis unit with a discussion activity as tenth graders prepare for an end-of-unit assessment. After they have read and annotated Christopher Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepard to His Love," Sir Walter Raleigh's...

Sometimes, sensory details can bring you back to a familiar place. Study the setting descriptions from a critical chapter in Amy Tan's A Joy Luck Club, and discuss how they enhance the book's plot and contribute to a central theme.

Football fans and ready readers will enjoy a lesson based on H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights. Focusing on chapter 4, the lesson encourages tenth graders to examine Mike's character development as it relates to the season opener and...

Is that drawn to scale? Capture the artistry of geometry using the ratio method to create dilations. Mathematicians use a center and ratio to create a scaled drawing. They then use a ruler and protractor to verify measurements. 

Applying a learned technique to a new type of problem is an important skill in mathematics. The lesson asks scholars to apply their understanding to analyze dilations of different figures. They make conjectures and conclusions to...

It's time for your young artists to shine! Learners examine images to determine possible similarity transformations. They then provide a sequence of transformations that map one image to the next, or give an explanation why it is...

Learn similarity through a transformations lens! Individuals examine the effects of transformations and analyze the properties of similarity, and conclude that any image that can be created through transformations is similar. The...

Playing with mathematics can invoke curiosity and excitement. As pupils construct triangles with given criteria, they determine the necessary requirements to support similarity. After determining the criteria, they practice...

That's radical! Simplifying radicals may not be exciting, but it is an important skill. A math lesson provides explanations of properties used throughout the material. Scholars practice skills needed to multiply and divide...

Start the exploration of trigonometry off right! Pupils build on their understanding of similarity in this instructional activity that introduces the three trigonometric ratios. They first learn to identify opposite and adjacent...

Not all triangles are right! Pupils learn to tackle non-right triangles using the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines. After using the two laws, they then apply them to word problems. 

Does identity come from within, or do external forces shape it? Explore the complex identity concept with a two-unit module for 12th-grade language arts. The first unit uses A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and "A Daily Joy...

Listen to the low, stifled sound that arises from the souls of your ninth graders when overcharged with awe. Inspire them with a captivating instructional activity about "The Tell-Tale Heart." Learners analyze how Poe uses the story...