Engage your class with a poetry slam. A poem is read aloud using a podcast. A few days are provided for learners to listen to the podcast and make a slam (connection) between the original poem and another poem. After everyone has had a...

If you could travel anywhere in the United States, where would you go? Use this question to interest your fourth, fifth, and sixth graders as they experiment with Mapquest or other direction-based resources. They choose where they'd like...

Set the stage for Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen's young adult novel about slavery set shortly before the Civil War, by asking readers to indicate whether they agree or disagree with several statements that are connected to issues...

Students research the history of paper money using the Internet in order to answer questions and create their own bills.

Exactly how fair are the board games children grow up playing? Young mathematicians investigate this questions as they work their way through this five-lesson series on basic probability. 

Students develop their abilities to solve problems both in school and in a variety of situations similar to that they have encountered in life. They define the term ecosystem in nature by comparing them to familiar organizational...

What happens next? Work on story sequence with a lesson that prompts kids to put a story back in order. Additionally, they discuss what would happen if one event was missing from the sequence.

Get your class outside, away from the television, and maybe even learning something about nature while they're at it. Individuals will chose an open, natural space to spend time in for several days. Each day they will complete a page in...

Is love the strongest force in the world? Delve into the themes of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas with an anticipation guide that introduces the main points of discussion. Kids mark their agreement or disagreement with...

Twelfth graders use computers and the Internet to research a specified area, word processors to prepare an essay, a digital camera, a video camera gather visuals, and a scanner to add visuals to a PowerPoint presentation as they discover...

Students study DNA decoding and protein synthesis. They use the amino acid table to translate DNA, break DNA strands into three nucleotide codes, and translate nucleotides into amino acid protein codes. They research the importance of...

Class members are asked to consider how they would respond to situations faced by characters in Great Expectations. After completing one exercise as guided practice, individuals are presented with a second problematic situation and...

It's time to make some connections! Scholars complete a close reading of the speech I Have a Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. They use an I Have a Dream Speech Gist Note-catcher, and I Have a Dream text-dependent questions to guide their...

Waves, currents, crests, and troughs. Using information provided in an article about waves and currents, readers define terms used to describe how energy travels.

Students have a class discussion on how the variety of foods we use on a daily basis come from all over the world. They identify foods that they are familiar with that come from other places.

Comparing two texts can build a greater understanding of the texts and themes of the works. Take some time to follow the steps here to guide your pupils through the process of composing compare-and-contrast essays.

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass serves as the anchor text for a instructional activity on symbolism. Readers use the provided worksheets to examine the symbols in the novel as well as in the world around them.

Scholars demonstrate what they know about the separation of powers through role play. Two individuals act out a skit as the remaining class members discuss and decide whether the interaction they observed is an appropriate example...

Both Athens and Sparta made choices to survive in ancient Greece. Those choices were, in essence, economic ones about how to direct resources. A Venn diagram activity and reading ask class members to examine the connection between...

Here's a calendar that helps readers keep track of the major events in The Wednesday War.

Following the method used by Truman Capote, class members research a major character from his novel, In Cold Blood, and then conduct an interview with that character. The resulting research is used to craft a newspaper article about the...

Strong opinions come from deeply held values. Young citizens explore the values that are most important to them in a class discussion and activity. As they prioritize a list of values cards that include freedom,...

How many times did it take Thomas Edison to invent a successful working lightbulb? Young learners read a short passage about this famous inventor and his determination in getting an idea to work successfully. Then, pupils respond to four...

Help prepare your youngsters for an emergency or natural disaster by discussing important topics as where to meet, how to remain in contact, and what belongs in an emergency kit.