High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...

Students research the topics Boat People: A Refugee Crisis, Dr. Henry Morgentaler: Fighting Canada's Abortion Laws, and CANDU: The Canadian Nuclear Reactor on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site.

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique learners' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...

Discuss ways to determine if the information middle and high schoolers gather online is accurate. Using the Internet, they cite two sources that show conflicting points of view on a subtopic of conservation. They summarize and analyze...

Blogs provide the motivation for this richly detailed writing instructional activity. After viewing blogs on various websites, class members pick topics, create a blog, and post an entry. Your bloggers then evaluate their work using...

Bully-free is the way every school should be! How can you help create that kind of culture in your school? A well-written teacher's guide containing lessons for grades 6-8 may be just the ticket. Each unit, separated by grade level,...

Encourage your readers to make connections between texts with this resource. After compiling notes for each text read (you choose the texts), groups craft skits in which major characters from each text meet. There is a rubric for the...

Certain behaviors make species vulnerable to extinction and others protect them. By studying species that are currently endangered, learners draw conclusions about these behaviors. They then apply their conclusions to healthy species and...

Stressed out? To begin a mental and emotional health unit, participants take a stress test to determine their level of stress. They study the effects of stress, identify sources of stress in their lives, and learn different ways to...

Although unlikely in today's English classroom, this lesson focuses on introducing research papers to seniors in high school. It briefly reviews the parts of an essay, and mentions showing learners example essays, but no examples are...

Eighth graders demonstrate the ability to select and evaluate media. Apply appropriate skills to collect, organize and interpret data. They research a variety of ways to make correct career choices.

Students practice sorting books. In this sorting lesson, students play the Flood Game on the PBS web site. With knowledge of the sorting system used by libraries, students sort small numbers of books using categories devised by their...

Scholars analyze various photos to determine how the people pictured take a stand. They use a Notice/Wonder Note Catcher to help organize their thoughts. Learners then study a Taking a Stand: Frayer Model handout to learn what it means...

Which side are you on? Scholars watch a video of John Stossel discussing the use of DDT pesticide. Learners talk about the purpose of the video and the speaker's argument and then complete a Tracing an Argument graphic organizer while...

Middle schoolers learn about the artist Canaletto, play a vocabulary game, and create a landscape using collage technique. Background information on the artist is provided along with instructions for the game and vocabulary words to...

The cut-up technique invented by surrealist artist Tristan Tzara is the focus for today. Young artists examine the technique and analyze its use in relation to expressing and viewing the world. They then use a newspaper to create a...

Talk it out. Scholars complete part two of the assessment by participating in a World Café discussion activity. Learners circulate the room, sharing their ideas and thoughts about Canada's natural resources using quotes and paraphrasing...

Scholars practice identifying and counting syllables. Images of classmates are cut out and placed on a chart. Learners clap and count the syllables in each child's name. They finish by writing the number of syllables under the...

Learners construct a photo document on their selected topic and use at least twelve photographs in their photo document. One must be of the authors. Additionally, they must write five interactive questions which help viewers interpret...

Learners explore the components of the transference of technological information through this ten instructional activity unit. The applications to specific careers, the determination of responsible use of technology, and the affects of...

Students explore how art reflects culture and history. They examine everyday life experiences in various countries. Students design a mixed media composition. They create a class presentation.

In this literacy instructional activity, students use the created resources for further progress towards knowledge. The sheet is a teacher's guide for creating student resources.

High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...

Students examine the ways in which computer folders and files help people organize and retrieve information. In this computer folder lesson, students are introduced to the computer as an important resource. Students discuss what a...