Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...

How smart is your home? Middle and high schoolers write a journal entry describing the types of technology found in their homes. After reading an article, they are introduced to "smart" home technology. In groups, they identify and...

Small groups read assigned chapters from the book, Letters to Rifka, then work together to fill out comprehension worksheets associated with their chapters. This fine, 13-page lesson culminates with each group getting together to meet...

Learners consider reactions to various plans for building on the grounds of the World Trade Center. They explore ideas and opinions that went into creating other memorials of events in American history and propose ideas for improving...

Students complete activities with the book Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. In this literature lesson, students read chapter one and brainstorm adjectives for the four main characters. They make a page of vocabulary words and...

Third graders create a shipping box from a cardboard material. In this measuring lesson, 3rd graders read the book Henry's Freedom Box and discuss the main idea. In the story a slave ships himself to freedom and the students measure and...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarization. They discuss the three steps of summarization, then silently read a National Geographic Kids News article. As a class they complete a semantic map of the article, and write...

Students examine an object in the classroom and write a description of it employing exciting language. They brainstorm and outline ideas for an original article about an event they participated in or attended.

Students journey with Lewis and Clark. In this literature lesson, students read The Journal of Augustus Pellitier-The Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804. Students keep a journal in the persona of a member of the expedition crew.

Students examine the pros and cons of the implementation of public policy matters and the specific issue of dress codes. They develop a list of pros and cons of a school dress code, examine and discuss a local editorial newspaper page,...

Students compile a daily journal to improve their writing skills. In this writing skills lesson, students use a picture to help them write on a daily basis. Students write reflectively each day to improve their writing skills.

Students, through a series of 4 lessons, explore what it means to revise their written work. They revise a bland story together and then practice revising their own papers by identifying the main action and "exploding" that moment into...

Young scholars compose a descriptive letter to their families. In this descriptive writing lesson students write a letter as if they have left their family for a new country and will try to convince their families to join...

Show a Powerpoint presentation about descriptive writing. Fourth graders brainstorm a list of writing topics and place them in graphic organizers. Then they write their own paragraphs describing topics of their choice and create...

This worksheet is ideal for a bell-ringer/writing warm-up in your class to review what was learned in a previous lesson, and includes identifying important terms and facts associated with a historical topic. Encourage learners to...

Students read and discuss "Defending Affirmative Action With Social Science," examining the admissions policies in public universities and colleges. They write persuasive essays either for or against the admissions policies in their state.

Keep your class thinking about Seedfolks after they read each chapter by requiring them to keep a journal about the story. Hand out these journal entry prompts at the beginning of the story so that your learners know what to expect. For...

How do you reference information correctly? Avoid plagiarism by accurately summarizing a New York Times article with your middle or high schoolers. Young researchers then insert properly attributed quotations and paraphrases into their...

Encourage your learners to examine the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay. Pupils work in small groups to put together a description of the setting before reading two more chapters of the book. They use their double-entry journals to...

Plant growth experiments offer rich, cross-curricular learning opportunities that can really excite and engage young learners. In this series, children work in pairs planting, measuring, and comparing the height of bean plants in order...

Magnetic resonance imaging, just how safe is it? The introduction to unit study of magnetic resonance imaging technology presents the grand challenge questions of how an MRI machine works, the risks involved, the physics involved,...

Imagine a tool that magically engages readers in the classroom. A handbook for Indiana educators doesn't guarantee success, but it does offer a variety of strategies for teachers to try. The handbook opens with research-based theory...

Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...

Expand your knowledge of exponents with an activity that promotes critical thinking and comparison skills. Middle and high schoolers compare numbers written in expanded and exponential form and explain their strategies for solving...