Start off your day with a quick reading comprehension quiz about chapter three of Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. After they complete the quiz, pupils participate in a discussion and look closely at the text. A strong Common Core...

Picture that! Pupils view photographs of the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, discussing what they know and wonder about each image. Then, scholars watch a short video about the historic event and complete a KWL...

How do you paraphrase information? Part of plagiarizing is taking information word for word and using it in your writing. Teach your writers how to paragraphs correctly to avoid this!   They watch a QuickTime video on Timbuktu and...

What would a main idea be without important details? Readers use a graphic organizer to record key details from an informational text (a fiction text would also work). Review main idea as a concept before beginning, asking scholars...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

Peanuts! Get your peanuts! Kids explore math, art, and agriculture concepts focused on peanuts. There is a brief informational text to get them started, and you'll find definitions of five in-text vocabulary words to address. Kids...

Does your ELA class need some practice with the specific skills outlined in the Common Core standards? Then this is the perfect resource for you! One in a series of connected lessons that cover the standards for reading literature,...

Connect with the text using helpful annotation strategies. As your class reads the first section of Karen Russell's short story, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," they note important passages that establish character...

What kid isn't interested in Cell phones? They are technical and to operate them you must read an informational text. Older elementary students read an informational text, match vocabulary words with their meanings, and create sentences...

Improve your young poets' descriptive writing with this lesson on personification. A SMART board and PowerPoint presentation guide your class through the process of identifying human qualities attributed to various non-human objects. A...

When your pupils read an account of an event, are they conscious of the fact that this particular account might focus on certain details, while ignoring others? Open their eyes to bias and varying interpretation of facts with the...

Analyze a fictional text with a four-page packet that explores a story's main character and moral, challenges scholars to ask and answer questions about the text, and to create a story map. 

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...

This page includes a space to write in the date, but what does the date even mean? And where does it come from? Inform your class about the various calendars and how the Western calendar came into widespread use with an informational...

Lead discussion and thoughtful analysis as pupils view Rabbit Proof Fence, a drama based on true story about three aboriginal girls who ran away from Western Australia to return to their Aboriginal families in 1931. Here you'll...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater...

Why was the road crossed by the chicken? Because the writer forgot to write in active voice. Many myths surround the use of passive voice. Thankfully, an informative handout explains how to recognize passive voice and when it's okay to...

Help your class explore the question "Is it ever right to disobey a law?" With a strong base of knowledge about the Civil War, anti-slavery movement, and Underground Railroad, your class explores civil disobedience in Marshall, Michigan...

Get the inside scoop on the European explorer, Christopher Columbus, with a response to reading worksheet that requires scholars to answer who, what, why, when, and a variety of other questions about the word crew.  

Honor brave young women with a lesson that showcases 30 individuals who's achievements made a lasting impression on our country's history. Here, scholars randomly choose a person to examine from an interactive myseum exhibit then share...

Having prepared for an analysis essay about one of the characters from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, tenth graders demonstrate their understanding in a mid-unit assessment. They focus on either Jing-Mei or Waverly in an informative...

Connect global examples of attempted genocide with a well-designed social studies activity. It includes an excellent informational text with background information on the Holocaust, as well as worksheets, book report guidelines, and...

If you're looking to tie rap music into poetry writing, this would be a good presentation to use as you kick off your mini-unit. Learners are given a brief, but descriptive, history of rap music and rap poetry. The slides include...

Stories are passed down orally in many cultures. Learn about the ways that storytelling can shape a society with a reading passage about Native American folklore and myths. After they finish reading, kids complete five reading...