Drafting a strong first sentence for a summary is an important step. Writers can use the formula presented on this handout to get started. The resource lists three steps to put together a strong topic sentence, as well as tips and hints...

Imagine a learning community committed to using Costa and Kallick's Habits of Mind as the basis of curriculum design. The resource book is packed with lessons that are designed for and identify the standards and...

Let the computer summarize all that data. Pairs work together to learn how to create pivot tables by following directions in the online module. They then utilize the data collected from the beginning of the unit to create their own...

Provide these templates as aids for pupils as they work to compose summaries of both stories and informational texts. The first two frames provide sentence starters to help learners structure their summaries and include all the necessary...

Invite your class to dig in to an engaging journey into the world of mining! Here you'll find the tools to equip young miners with knowledge of soil, rocks, and minerals, as well as types of mining operations. To round things out, the...

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

Sometimes summarizing keeps a writer from going deeper into their analysis—don't fall into that trap. Learn the difference between summarizing and analyzing using an insightful resource. Focusing on introductions, the lesson shares...

Create a buzz in your class with this collection of learning activities for the book Hi! Fly Guy. Including a list of comprehension questions, a sequence of events activity, a summary writing assignment, and a vocabulary list, this...

Dive into a class reading of the book George Washington's Socks with the help of this guide. Including a vocabulary list and series of comprehension questions for each chapter, this resource provides an excellent foundation for...

After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...

Though this book report form is labeled Siddhartha, the multiple-page format would work for any novel you are reading in class. Complete with a reading schedule, a summary page, a list of generic literature response questions, and a list...

Have your young learners work in pairs to find and research an endangered species. They use research to develop ideas about saving their animal from extinction. Pairs develop a three-dimensional model of the animal's habitat. Then,...

Is there anything left to discover? Evaluate opposing sides of the debate regarding whether or not there is a future for scientific discovery. Middle and high schoolers assess quotations from the articles included to evaluate claims and...

The first verse of A.A. Milne’s poem, Beetle, is the basis for a model of how to summarize a text. The two-page activity also includes a short story for guided practice, as well as summarizing questions, a story sharing activity, and an...

Here is an in-depth, and incredibly thorough lesson plan on sustainable agricultural practices; specifically, regarding the growth of coffee. After completing and discussing a worksheet called "Thinking About Tomorrow," groups of...

Discuss wants and needs with your elementary ecologists and get them to consider what would happen to our natural resources if we all got everything that we want. Learners play a card sorting game and take an ecological footprint quiz on...

Guide your learners through the water cycle with this lesson plan. Over the course of the lesson, they read two Magic School Bus books, discuss the water cycle, come up with water facts, complete a diagram of the water cycle, recognize...

Stick this resource in the "Use" column. In the second installment of a six-part series, learners use glue sticks to demonstrate forces. Using glue sticks, instructors can demonstrate tension, compression, and torsion.

High schoolers examine the issue of government versus private sector control of natural resources. They read an article, evaluate the need for international law governing resource allocation, and participate in a class debate.

Students discover the history and method of oil production.  In this natural resource lesson plan, students investigate early oil production.  Students discuss the challenges of turning natural resources into safe products.

Students investigate why the soil is important to our lives. In this natural resources lesson, students have a farmer as a guest speaker. Students begin to understand how farmers use and protect our natural resource. Students write...

Summary writing is tough for native English speakers, let alone English language learners! In this plan, high school English learners examine how to annotate online articles and write a one-page summary. They can post this summary on...

Learners with special needs create Summary of Performance (SOP), a written document which describes their disability, its impact on their daily life, ways they have learned to compensate, their personal strengths, and their goals. The...

Use this economic activity to focus on writing summaries of informational text. First, middle schoolers define common economic terms used to describe news about the economy. They closely read news about the federal budget deficit and...