During the eighth lesson in a historical fiction unit, pupils practice thoughtfully transitioning their ideas sequentially. After the teacher models how to add these transitions using the Wheelwright draft created in a previous lesson,...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

If you've ever peeked inside a middle schooler's backpack, you know how valuable a lesson on organization can be. Help class members organize their binders, study habits, and schedules with a set of collaborative activities.

The food on young scholars' tables was likely harvested by hands that fought for fair wages and working conditions. By examining the life of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, learners connect their daily meals with the struggles of those...

Pupils plan for a historical fiction narrative based on their previous research on expert trades from the Colonial Era. Individuals use the four-square graphic organizer to organize the information they want to be detailed in their four...

Fourth graders use a four-square graphic organizer to plan a paragraph writing about a wheelwright. Using gathered research from the previous unit, young writers discover how to organize a plot in preparation for writing a historical...

Students explore organizing to resist oppressive authority without the use of violence.  In this philosophy lesson, students research Gandhi's approach to organizing people around a positive cause without the need to be aggressive...

Forming a strong organizational outline is important when reading a complex text, writing an informative essay, or analyzing a complicated problem. Use a straightforward organization outline to teach learners about concept mapping.

Your class will be discussing some hot topics today. This set of three essay questions covers multiple aspects of the conflict in the Middle East. They'll discuss the Iranian Hostage Crisis, define PLO (Palestine Liberation...

A thorough lesson on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive techniques...

Middle schoolers read, The Transatlantic Slave Trade, and then in teams, focus on one section of the essay. They write down key events and dates, with a brief description of each, and organize it chronologically onto a timeline.

One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...

What was life like in colonial America? Follow this lesson and your pupils will find out what people in colonial times did for work and for fun. Ask learners to compare and contrast the two texts and explain what the reading helped them...

Young historians use their planning graphic organizer to prepare a personal narrative draft on expert trades. Since the instructional activity is considered the mid-unit assessment, learners respond to a writing prompt related to the...

Young writers use the four-square graphic organizer to draft their historical fiction narratives' first, second, third, and fourth paragraphs on the wheelwright. The instructional activity promotes discussion and modeling of what makes a...

Seventh graders embark in discovery of basic facts about an assigned continent and are asked to organize their information into categories. The Five Themes model is taught and students reshuffle their information appropriately.

Students examine candy preferences to create a plan in order to improve candy sales. In this technobiz lesson, students build spreadsheet and organizational skills by graphing and calculating data. Students are introduced to terminology...

Identify and analyze deductive reasoning through genuine texts. Compare cultural practices and beliefs about national ID cards. Look for another example of a deductive argument and prepare a brief paragraph analyzing the audience,...

Prepare your pupils for a debate or argumentative writing assignment. Students can use the two columns here to take notes on two different arguments about the same topics. They then note down their own positions and briefly explain their...

How did the United States Congress determine how the new president and vice president would be named when the nation was first established? Who would provide money for the government, and how would the executive branch be organized? 

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...

Sixth graders examine the Stamp Act. In this Stamp Act lesson, 6th graders analyze documents surrounding the Stamp Act. Students determine the reasons, oppositions and impacts of the Stamp Act and organize this information on a chart....