Did Bernie Madoff fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer because, as Diana Henrique contends in an excerpt from her The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death, he “did not fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer”? Huh? Groups begin their...

The second instructional activity on finding inverse matrices asks class members to look for a pattern in the inverse matrix and test it to see if it works for all matrices. The teacher leads a discussion to refine the process in...

Building on the previous discussion of the supplemental reading article "Where Sweatshops Are a Dream," class members use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to identify the claims and evidence Nicholas Kristof uses to...

What decisions might an author make about the structure of a play? Pupils participate in an evidence-based discussion about Shakespeare's choices in Macbeth. Next, scholars analyze the effect of Shakespeare's structural choices in Act 2,...

Virginia Woolf didn't believe a woman could have written Shakespeare's works. Using the resource, scholars engage in a silent discussion to analyze how Woolf uses rhetoric to convey her point of view in A Room of One's Own. Pupils write...

How does the comparison of Hamlet to Fortinbras develop Hamlet's character? Scholars complete a Quick Write to answer the question. They also continue their exploration of Shakespeare's Hamlet, reading and discussing Act 4.4.

Using the resource, scholars read Act 3.3 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. They analyze two soliloquies and discuss how Shakespeare develops the characters.

Scholars delve into Act 1.2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. By completing a writing exercise and participating in a class discussion, they continue to analyze how the author develops the characters in the play.

What common challenges do refugees and immigrants face? Using the 9th lesson plan from the 20-part Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, pupils read about the similarities between refugees' and immigrants' adaptation processes. Partners...

Scholars extend their research of the food chain that Michael Pollan discusses in The Omnivore's Dilemma. They determine additional consequences of the food chain and add them to their Cascading Consequences charts. Additionally, pupils...

Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...

Students complete studies to learn about tolerance for gender groups. In this gender study instructional activity, students are divided into gender groups and discuss how it feels to be grouped that way. Students brainstorm messages...

Students explore society by completing a class identification activity. In this student identification lesson, students participate in a classification activity in which students with a certain hair, eye or clothing color are divided...

What would you take with you if you were traveling on your own to a different place? A different time? Pupils decide individually and then in groups what the main character of Running Out of Time should take on her trip. Coming to a...

Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with...

Money motivates! Help young bankers understand how math plays a part in investing. Give learners math practice while instilling real-world financial literacy skills.

Off to Adventure! is the theme of an English language arts unit comprised of a variety of challenge activities. Scholars enhance skills and reinforce concepts by taking part in a grand book discussion, giving an oral...

Learners compare the colloquial definition of temperature with the scientific definition. They, in groups, then explore the changes of water under different temperatures and calculate and compare their findings on three different...

Learners use manipulatives to form groups and then create a page showing parts of a group as fractions using KidPix. They work on the concept of equal parts and the number of groups discussing fractions of the groups and how they would...

Students discover the four main food groups by categorizing their own diet.  For this healthy eating lesson, students utilize a chart with pictures of food to identify which food belongs in which food group.  Students discuss...

I love literature circles! Get your pupils together and have them discuss the book they are reading. They determine and practice their role in the literature circle then discuss the book they are reading. This is a great introduction to...

Learners of any age can participate in this imagination and improve development activity. With the use of a small box, they work through a series of questions or situations posed by the teacher. Each group uses the box to create short...

Get your future professionals working in teams as part of a college and career readiness lesson. Discuss times learners have been on teams. What worked and what didn't? How did they settle disagreements? There is a teamwork handout here...

Students work in a cooperative groups to create a free standing tower of straws and pins in ten minutes. They watch a video of the cooperative groups working, discuss the process and list the things they could do to improve the cooperation.