Surprise! is the theme of this series of challenge activities. The surprise comes from the information your scholars will discover when researching topics such as alligators and crocodiles, living in other countries, becoming a...

As part of a unit study of The Hobbit, class members engage in an activity that asks group to practice the skills needed to reach consensus in a discussion.

"People never notice anything." As part of their study of The Catcher in the Rye, class members adopt Holden Caulfield's approach and spend time as quiet observers of their surrounding, recording their observations/reflections in a...

Readers of Tunes for Bears to Dance to are asked to write a personal letter to Henry, the main character in Robert Cormier's young adult novel, offering Henry advice about whether he should do as Mr. Hairston wants.

Considering including Juliet Marillier's young adult novel, Wildwood Dancing as part of your language arts curriculum? Check out an overview that examines some of the themes and issues presented by the novel. 

High schoolers examine the grid in terms of a method of organization in our society as well as graphic design. In this "Making and Breaking the Grid" instructional activity, students design solutions to common problems and draw...

Fifth graders give a presentation about one of the explorers. For this explorers lesson, 5th graders research an explorer and give a presentation to the class. While students are presenting the others are taking notes on a graphic...

Students consider how cause and effect translate into sequencing in literary works. In this sequencing lesson plan, students read non-fiction passages about Eleanor Roosevelt and Clara Barton. Students complete graphic organizers based...

High schoolers explore the concept of self and analyze the Human Organization Theory. Individually, students write poems about themselves. In small groups, they create a poster related to the 14 categories of the Human Organization...

Second graders complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Frog and Toad are Friends. In this reading lesson plan, 2nd graders complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short...

Students make thematic connections and organize their ideas using a Venn Diagram. For this Venn Diagram instructional activity, students compare 3 different stories from a novel and fill in a Venn Diagram. Students then discuss their...

Twelfth graders discuss a fictional text that they are given, they identify passages, which highlight the author's style, language naances and textual ambiguities. Pupils brainstorm possible topics for an analytical essay, they are...

Students consciously activate prior knowledge in order to comprehend new information about a given subject.  In this comprehension and prior knowledge lesson, students use a graphic organizer to activate prior knowledge and use...

Students explore author's voice. In this literary elements and reading comprehension lesson, students listen to two poems about snakes (included) and identify adjectives and other descriptive words and phrases that help them determine...

Fifth graders read a text about Amelia Earhart's father and use facts from the text to identify the author's opinion. In this author's opinion lesson plan, 5th graders complete a worksheet that is provided.

In this reading comprehension lesson, 6th graders read and analyze the novel, The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin. Students, after reading chapters 3-5, answer 8 reading comprehension questions about the stock market. Students add on to...

Students explore beginning research skills. In this nonfiction comprehension and research lesson, students generate possible research questions to answer when given the book title of Animals of the Sea and Shore by Ann O. Squire....

Miss Frizzle's class provides the inspiration for your young learners! Read "The Magic School Bus Explores Outer Space," and discuss the solar system. First learners will complete a KWL chart about a planet they're assigned to. Then, as...

In this reading quest worksheet, students complete this graphic organizer by generating questions, providing text explanations, and categorizing their responses after reading a chapter in social studies.

In this reading non-fiction worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer, rating on a scale of 1-10 whether given types of text would be more opinion or fact. Students then highlight parts of statements indicating fact or opinion.

Fourth graders examine the effects of Mexican-American ranching on life today.

Persuade your writers that crafting arguments is not that difficult. They only need to follow the steps outlined in this resource.

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...

Lesson 7 focuses on building academic vocabulary and writing an explanatory letter with supported textual evidence. For the first five minutes of the instructional activity, the educator reminds the class of how to read and refer to the...