Learners browse through and take notes from the "How Stuff Works" website and choose a topic to describe in writing. They draft a summary of the text and present their writing for feedback. They revise their writing based on feedback given.

Sixth graders examine the elements of writing poetry. In this creative writing lesson, 6th graders discuss a book of poetry in the setting of Appalachia. Students incorporate childhood experiences into the development of visual and...

Students discuss the character traits of George Washington. In this George Washington lesson, students read A Picture Book of George Washington, discuss the book, and complete worksheet activities about Washington's self-discipline and...

Eighth graders identify the main ideas of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. They read and discuss text, read and summarize a section of the Declaration of Independence in small groups, and write a paper on why the colonists felt it...

Engage young marine biologists in a reading of Eric Carle's A House for Hermit Crab with a fun hands-on activity. Given a set of clipart images of the different aquatic animals that appear in the book, children identify each one...

Young scholars create a timeline of the history of Washington, D.C. from 1787 to 1879. Using the internet, they read specified articles about the design of the capital and city of Washington DC. Students write a newspaper article about...

Students design and lay out a map of a coastal area that includes a bay, an estuary, an ocean entrance, and prime beach lands. They write a plan outlining solutions to the economic problems of their community and present their map and...

Students investigate the pulling force of CEENBoT. In this physics lesson plan, students suggest modifications to increase the kinetic coefficient of friction and eventually the pulling force. They write a complete lab report about...

Students summarize a fiction text. After reviewing the correct way to read in order to glean important information for summary, students independently read a nonfiction article. They write a summary paragraph using the process outlined...

Students discuss the importance of comprehension and the use of summarization. Through guided practice, they follow six steps in finding and highlighting important information from an article, while deleting information that is not...

How high can your pupils jump? Learners design an experiment to answer this question. After collecting the data, they create box plots and scatter plots to analyze the data. To finish the lesson, they use the data to draw conclusions.

Following the six-step process for a talking sticks literature circle, group members choose a leader for the discussion, summarize the reading, discuss journal entries and questions, set reading goals, and write reflections. I think this...

How does one use a graphic organizer to plan writing? Introduce your writers to different types of graphic organizers by dividing the class into groups and assigning each group a particular organizer. Then, as they research chocolate...

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

After viewing two documentaries about the history of the Channel islands, individuals craft an essay in which they compare the lives of Juana Maria, the Lone Woman San Nicolar Island, to Lester Holt and his family featured in the...

After investigating different policies within the school district, young reformers select a policy they would like to change. They then investigate the policy, and craft a letter in which they advocate a change to the policy. For guided...

Collect and graph data using Microsoft Excel with your math class. They will make predictions about the number of each colored candy in a bag of M&M's, then sort, classify, count, and record the actual data before using Excel to...

Scholars continue to analyze Simon Schama's article "The Shakespeare Shakedown." They participate in a jigsaw discussion to identify the author's argument and supporting claims. Pupils also write objective summaries of the text.

For many high schoolers, what they want to be when they grow up can be very intimidating. Here's an activity that gets them thinking about their interests and how they might connect these interests to future jobs. After watching a short...

Start kids thinking about point of view and autobiographies by telling them a short story about your morning (first person), and then asking a volunteer to re-tell the story to you (second person). There are tips to help you tie this...

Young scholars explore the concept of measurement as it relates to equivalencies. They complete simple conversions using visual models of measurement units, and  record their answers in a two-column table.

Positive and negative numbers are all around us. Groups read short story contexts and identify a rational number that represents the values in the context. They order the rational numbers and interpret statements of inequality.

Discuss classical appeals of rhetoric through the speeches of Winston Churchill and FDR. Learners read, annotate, and analyze the speeches by the men before using a graphic organizer to track the use of ethos, pathos, and logos. 

We have formulas for finding the volume of geometric shapes, but what if the shape is irregular? Lesson describes how to find volume through water displacement. After a demonstration, scholars practice in small groups. Then analysis...