Keeping animals relaxed and comfortable has numerous benefits. Explore Temple Grandin's unique perspective on animal behavior with a lesson that concentrates on a central idea within the text. High schoolers prepare for the final...

Finish your unit on Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation with a two-part written assessment. As ninth graders refer to their notes, annotations, and discussion guides from the first part of the unit, they prepare for a writing prompt...

Autism isn't an illness or a disability. In the first chapter of Animals in Translation, we learn about Temple Grandin's unique ability to understand animals through her experience with autism. Having read pages four through eight for...

Scholars gain an insight into the relative size of planets and distance between inner and outer planets with the help of informational text, a data table, and a series of four questions.  

Using the open-ended discussion questions developed the day before, class members engage in a fishbowl discussion of the three texts that anchor the unit: “True Crime: The Roots of an American Obsession," “How Bernard Madoff Did It,” and...

Reinforce vocabulary and reading comprehension with a Hanukkah-themed collection of worksheets. Scholars first read a two-paragraph informational text, then apply their new-found-knowledge to match phrases, fill in blanks with...

Scholars discover who Saint Patrick was with help from a brief informational text followed by a series of challenge worksheets designed to boost reading comprehension and vocabulary. Class members complete a graphic organizer, take...

Discover the life of renowned children's author, Eric Carle, with a biographical, graphic organizer. Scholars read an informational text and locate details such as Carle's birthday, siblings, favorite books, and write a reflection about...

How much can opinion influence a news story? A standalone resource discusses the importance of John Brown's Raid through the lens of journalism. Learners analyze two different texts, one from the perspective of the North and the other of...

An English Language Arts exam contains 24 multiple-choice questions that individuals answer after reading informational and literary passages. Scholars then write a source-based argument and text-analysis response. 

The English Language Arts Examination handout contains a variety of multiple-choice questions to assess reading comprehension, in addition to a source-based argument essay and text-analysis response prompts.

Hopefully the third time's a charm when it comes to rebuilding London's Globe Theatre! With an informational text, readers learn about the reconstruction of the theatre in the 1990s. They also discover how modern health and safety...

A four-paragraph informational text details the life of the famous baseball player, Jackie Robinson. A prompt challenges scholars to write or discuss a time in their life when they were not included and how that made them feel. 

Choose your words wisely. Scholars examine word choice in an excerpt from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Learners work in pairs and groups to discuss how the author's choice of words creates a deeper connection between the reader...

Scholars learn about the Hero's Journey as they read Ray Bradbury's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh." They analyze the story's structure and narrative techniques. Finally, they write summaries of the text's central idea and use their...

Teach literary lovers how to form opinions about form. Scholars read informational text about the form used in villanelles. After analyzing the structure used in the poetry with graphic organizers and gallery walks, writers create...

A final assessment marks the end of a unit that takes a close look at a variety of informational texts all about frogs. A graphic organizer aides scholars in planning an accordion paragraph using their recorder forms from previous...

A 10-page packet delivers a plethora of information about Kwanzaa—a week-long holiday that celebrates African American people and their heritage. Each page consists of informational text and an opportunity to respond to through pictures...

What's the difference between men and princes? Machiavelli discusses this distinction in chapter 18 of The Prince. Scholars first listen to a masterful reading of the chapter. Then, they write about how the author develops a central idea...

Is it better to be loved or feared? Using the resource, scholars explore Machiavelli's nonfiction text, The Prince, and examine the author's ideas about the role of leadership. Pupils also complete a Quick Write to analyze a central idea...

How can scholars better understand the refugee experience? Pupils read Fox Butterfield's article "Panic Rises in Saigon, but the Exits are Few" and connect it to the novel Inside Out & Back Again. They annotate the text, looking for...

Using the fourth of 20 lessons from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, scholars discuss refugees' challenges when finding a place to call home. They also read and answer text-based questions about the informational passage...

What are the psychological and emotional effects associated with being a refugee? Scholars consider the question by reading and analyzing an essay, "How Ha's Mother is Turned 'Inside Out.'" Once finished, they engage in a whole-class...

How does poetry help people better understand societal issues? Pupils participate in a jigsaw activity to analyze poems from the novel Inside Out & Back Again. Next, they connect the poems to real-life refugee experiences from the...