Enhance your middle and high schoolers' research skills with this lesson. After viewing a video clip about HIV and AIDS, high schoolers identify the facts and issues surrounding the disease. They work together to create a newspaper...

Learners discuss personal finance and create personal budgets. They discuss the importance of managing their money and how money management skills impact their future. Note: This activity is intended for use with a SMART Board and...

Students discover how to find authoritative resources. In this research skills lesson, students examine strategies for using the Internet effectively to research global development issues.

Explore newspapers as a form of print media. They examine headlines from newspapers and infer meanings of the headlines. They skim articles for information and exchange articles between groups. They complete charts while skimming the...

Locating and synthesizing information is an essential part of the research process but can be overwhelming for many young writers. Eliminate some of the stress and confusion, this resource suggests, by separating these steps. To focus...

Third graders define, identify, measure, and assess the level and impact of violence in media. The media forms evaluated include music, sitcoms, news, and other programs that are identified and shared by the class. 

Focus on research skills, specifically identifying key words and concepts on a specific topic and evaluating information for relevance and authority. This is part of a multi-step lesson on Ancient Rome; however, it is useful for any...

Are you actually feeling really tired of reading wordy, redundant, long, lengthy sentences practically all the time over and over again? Introduce writers to this handout and exercise to teach to tighten up their prose! Provides two ways...

What are diverse media formats? Have your class figure this out on their own through small-group brainstorming. The resource includes two related activities about different kinds of data that will help your class get a grasp of media...

After re-viewing a documentary segment on the restoration of Santa Cruz Island,, individuals craft an essay in which they compare the views of the various stake holders featured in the video and identify the point of view they find...

The details in the new Common Core standard for producing informative/explanatory texts is different from what you have in your current curriculum, and now you are confused on what to do. Keep calm and carry on, because not only does...

Given all the recent criticism of the news media and coverage, it's crucial that young people are given the tools they need to evaluate what they see, hear, and read about current events. A video interview from "News Goggles" introduces...

Does your ELA class need some practice with the specific skills outlined in the Common Core standards? Then this is the perfect resource for you! One in a series of connected lessons that cover the standards for reading literature,...

Working on revision? Check out this resource on Common Core standard W.9-10.5, which focuses in particular on the writing process. After reading some information about the specifics of the standard and how to implement it in the...

When your pupils read an account of an event, are they conscious of the fact that this particular account might focus on certain details, while ignoring others? Open their eyes to bias and varying interpretation of facts with the...

Shark! Scholars read about sharks in Facts about Sharks by Susanna Batchelor. They then pretend they are shark scientists and choose a shark they want to study. Learners research their sharks and record information in graphic organizers...

Everyone has a different point of view, even when it comes to the enormity of the universe. Two separate text passages explain the scope of a galaxy, prompting young readers to write an essay about each author's argument and how the...

See what all the buzz is about with a reading comprehension activity! Third and fourth graders read a short informational passage about bees before answering four questions about what they have learned.

Fake news. Alternative facts. Internet trolls. In an age of Newspeak, it's increasingly important to equip 21st century learners with the skills needed to determine the legitimacy of claims put forth on social media, in print, and in...

Can't read this now, I'll have to check it out later. A teacher's time is always limited. So often as we peruse the web for personal and professional content, we come across sites and information that we cannot immediately...

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...

Bring Consumer Mathematics and Economics to life with this lesson, where learners investigate personal finance and budgeting. They use the newspaper’s classified section to determine a future job and potential earnings and determine a...

Enhance the reading experience with a set of lessons designed to improve textual analysis. Seventh graders use guiding questions to read both informational text and literature closely in the first part of the unit. Next, they work on...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...