Investigate a "table of contents" with your young scholars! They read the table of contents in Deserts by Darlene R. Stille and predict where the answers to specific questions might be found. Learners complete a worksheet in which they...

Examine ways in which historic places and landmarks represent significant themes and events in American history. Then create theme-based travel guides for related historic locations. This lesson requires informational reference materials...

The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...

Did you know dogs had an important job on September 11th, the day airplanes took down the World Trade Center? Learn more about the furry heroes with a three-page informational read designed to aid pupils in answering 10...

Discover the connection of native peoples to their natural world, including cultural and agricultural practices, by studying the Zuni people of the American Southwest. This lesson includes examining a poster's photographs, reading...

Cartoons from the 2008 Presidential election provide the text for a lesson designed to help learners understand how political cartoonists use persuasive techniques to present a point of view.

Here's an awesome unit that uses The Cay as the anchor text. The 16-page packet is loaded with teaching ideas, activities, and suggested adjustments.

Show your class how to read a map and decipher all of the markings and features. Start out by connecting maps to their homework from the night before and their current reading, in this case That Book Woman, and a related informational...

As part of a study of saving choices and opportunity costs, class members listen to a reading of Lois Lenski's Cotton in My Sack, and then evaluate the spending choices made by the Hutley family.  

Kids can find out what was going on at the Wal-Mart de Mexico while increasing their ability to read lengthy and complicated articles. They read the article and then answer 10 who, what, when, where, and why questions.

Students examine what life was like in free African-American communities before the Civil War. They analyze maps, identify elements of everyday life in these communities, explore various websites, and complete a chart.

Students investigate the life of African Americans in the North during the American Revolution. They analyze how authors use various techniques to write biographies, read about Sojourner Truth, conduct research, and write an excerpt...

Discover the family histories that make the classroom with a family tree activity. Scholars locate information about their family, construct a family tree, and work together to tally where family members are born.  

Fourth graders read cards about the explorers: Coronado, Lewis, and Clark, Pike, and Long. In this influential expeditions lesson, 4th graders describe and observe explorers who came to Kansas. Students locate main reasons and details as...

Through reading a variety of news articles and other informational texts, learners discover the political turmoil and intense ethnic and religious tensions that envelop the Ivory Coast today. Class members research the historical...

Learners take a closer look at one journalist's work on UN Peacebuilding efforts in four African nations: Sierra Leone, Burundi, Central African Republic, and Guinea Bissau. They collaborate to define peacebuilding and discuss...

Family traditions are the focus of a lesson that explores the lives of children in India and those in your classroom. Scholars examine their own family roles and traditions, then respond to an informative text detailing a young...

Put important events in chronological order with a lesson about timelines. With a variety of topics stemming from world history, the packet of worksheets provides analytical activity for learners to decide where certain events fall...

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

Third graders engage in a lesson plan which addresses their curiosity about some of the outstanding people-made landmarks of the world. They explore the geographical themes of location and place through literature.

Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...

Informational texts come in all shapes and sizes. Your kids will read the New York Times article, "Preparing for Passover" then answer seven comprehension questions. The answer to each question is located in embedded hyperlinks. 

In August of 2011 an earthquake shook the nation's capitol, and became a newsworthy event; learners read this New York Times article to find out why. They read the piece then answer nine related comprehension questions. Two additional...

Provide your class with a context and series of events that has led to the conflict in the Middle East. They read 4 separate passages and answer 1 critical thinking question for each. Four more questions are posed at the bottom of the...