How can a candidate get the most votes, yet still lose the race for the presidency? This is has happened more than once in American history, including in the elections of 2000 and 2016. Using an activity for creating group notes, young...

Prior to reading Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen, present your class with a KWHL. Although the actual chart isn't included here, you can easily find or create one on your own. Give your class a specific topic and start by brainstorming...

Bookend your study of Peter and the Starcatchers with a KWHL centered around treasure and power. Pupils work in small groups to compile knowledge and questions and then revisit this chart after reading and research.

How can we heal our hearts through forgiveness?  The third activity in a series of six prompts readers to answer questions about Words by Heart by Ouida Sebestyen. Not only does it activate background knowledge on the...

Prejudice is the theme of this Pudd'nhead Wilson KWHL chart. Learners fill out their charts, discuss how to find the answers to their questions, and spend some time researching a topic they want to know more about.

The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...

Here’s a series of exercises designed to be used after readers have finished reading The Hobbit. Pairs identify the speaker of a series of quotes, match characters with qualities, and provide evidence from the story to support their...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Eleventh graders examine the political demands put on one of four groups living in America during WWII. Each class member is asked to research and write a paper describing the homefront experience for women, Hispanics, African-Americans,...

Following brief instruction about the Iran Hostage Crisis during Jimmy Carter's presidency, small groups read three-page sections from the diary of hostage Robert C. Ode. They write editorials from the perspective of either U.S. citizens...

How did the women in France feel about their country’s involvement in World War II? Class groups are assigned a country involved in WWII, and individuals within the group adopt the point of view of leaders, laborers, businessmen, women,...

There is nothing more exciting than allowing learners to express themselves through a creative medium. In groups, they write narrative stories, focusing on building a strong storyline and dialogue. Next, they transform their stories into...

Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...

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...

Learners collaborate to create a set of group norms and expectations by which they will abide in order to promote a safe, respectful online community.

If it's on the Internet, it must be true—right? How can someone tell if a website contains less-than-truthful information? Savvy surfers evaluate sources in the fifth of a six-part college and career readiness instructional activity...

Students examine media coverage of George W. Bush's refusal to answer questions regarding past illegal drug usage in the 1999 campaign. They consider the role of rumor, scandal, audience and relevance in political media coverage.

Students identify the five basic food groups. They use their knowledge of the food pyramid to plan a full meal that incorporates at least one serving of food from each group. Pupils classify their ingredients according to the food groups.

In this integers worksheet, 8th graders solve 10 various types of problems to include rewriting each statement using the convention for Positive integers and then calculate their answer. They also rewrite each statements without the...

Students are reintroduced to the letter "W" and its sound. In this letter "W" lesson plan, students touch their throat to check their voice box when saying the sound of the letter "W." Students review words that begin with the letter "W"...

Use the well-known KWHL chart as a tool for building up to a research project and oral presentation related to Willa Cather's My Antonia. Starting with a class brainstorm, pupils research and gradually narrow down topics relating to...

Though Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle shocked the American public into a thorough examination of the meat-packing industry, the author was disappointed that his book's main argument—the exploitation of American immigrants—was not...

Who is telling the story? Readers take a look at the text Eight Days to determine if the story is told in first or third person. They then discuss in groups and complete a shared writing activity to describe how the narrator's point of...

Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....