The PBS film, Bronx Princess, launches a study of complex parent-child relationships. Using the provided reading guide, viewers respond to clips from the film and compare Rocky and Yaa’s relationship to other parent-child relationships....

Why don't dinosaurs wander the earth any longer? Answer this fascinating question with young readers as they examine a brief informational text. There are bolded words to separate text sections which are an excellent example of...

How many cars would be involved in a traffic jam 12 miles long? A slightly ambiguous writing prompt gives learners the opportunity to practice making reasonable assumptions to tackle a real-life problem. Few details are given, so they...

Continue working through Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan, by looking into language choices and discussing text-dependent questions. Pupils converse in small groups and as a class about plot, setting, and figurative language. Using...

Begin class with a short comprehension quiz and review and then move into a new genre: two-voice poems. The activity provides information about this type of poetry as well as a video example made by eighth graders that you can show your...

Eight different numbers are listed for mathematics masters to analyze. They simply tell if each number is rational or irrational. They can also explain their reasoning. A simple and straightforward instructional activity that is a handy...

Walt Whitman was a composter? Certainly the cycle of life and death he describes in "Leaves of Grass" parallels the processes going on in a compose pile. The interdisciplinary approach detailed here could be used to foster a deeper...

Introduce the concept of exponential functions with an activity that extends the definition of exponents to include rational values. Start with a doubling function at integer values of time, then expand table to include frational time...

Cats can't add, but they do multiply! Determine the number of descendants of a single cat given specific facts about cats and kittens. The instructional activity focuses on developing strategies for problem solving using both individual...

Grading essays after reading a novel written by a lyrical master (think Nabokov, Morrison, Chabon) is a deflating experience. Why can’t your student’s display the same skill in diction as your favorite writers? Because you did not use...

It's important that writers leave their readers with a strong and satisfying conclusion. Help your young writers develop the skills to compose a concluding sentence with the steps outlined here. After class members have had a chance to...

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...

Here’s a 19-page Things Fall Apart teacher resource packet from the UK that includes background information on Chinua Achebe, the culture of the Ibo people before and after colonization, and activities designed to prepare learners for...

The possibilities for effective collaboration, editing, and peer review are endless with Google Docs! This organized lesson plan details how to walk class members through establishing their Google Drive accounts, creating and sharing...

Considering using Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies? Here's a resource designed to be used before and during a reading of her powerful story of the murder of the Mirabal sisters. Included in the packet is a vocabulary...

Acting as journalists on a team to determine the most influential city-state of Renaissance Italy, your young historians will research, discuss, and compare the rise of Venice, Florence, and Genoa, and their influence in shaping a...

Why do people create governments? Where did we get our ideas about government? This is a fantastic introductory lesson plan for your American government class that begins by reviewing the philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in...

Seeking to derive the formula for the volume of a square pyramid, geometry learners construct six square based pyramids that, when pieced together properly, form a cube. Two short videos demonstrate the relationship...

Looking for a way to keep AP learners engaged after the exam? AP Psychology class members engage in self-analysis and present themselves to their colleagues by choosing one of two interesting project choices. Individuals may prepare a CD...

Show your class that there is more than one way to communicate an idea. Pupils note down their ideas and then brainstorm a few things they want to include in their pictures. Then, in the box provided, they sketch and describe their...

From start to finish, here is a fantastic resource that uses engaging activities and an interactive virtual game to teach about major US Supreme Court cases. Your class members will distinguish the primary arguments made in such cases as...

Mostly for teacher's use, here are instructions for making a traditional electromagnetic motor and a detailed explanation of how it works. 

Offer learners a step-by-step process for approaching unknown words with this PowerPoint presentation of vocabulary strategies, which details how to use context clues and word parts (roots, prefixes, suffixes), as well as encourages...

Invite your learners to take a look at life during the term of United States president George Washington through analysis of an interesting primary source. The document summarizes American manufacturing capacities, as detailed...