Locating and synthesizing information is an essential part of the research process but can be overwhelming for many young writers. Eliminate some of the stress and confusion, this resource suggests, by separating these steps. To focus...

Illustrate the importance of specific details and clear directions. Sitting back-to-back, partners take turns building a Lego structure and giving directions to their partners to create an identical structure. The subsequent discussion...

Chapter II of John Milton's Paradise Lost provides the text for a series of comprehension questions crafted using Bloom's Taxonomy.

After listening to a story about the water cycle, learners create their own versions of this tale. This is a great way to have your class review the concepts of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.

Introduce your learners to the concept of a double-entry journal. Talk about how to connect with the text and model an example for them. Using whatever literature you are working with, have scholars choose a quote and make their own...

Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...

Explore legends and storytelling with your learners. After listening to some legends, pupils work collaboratively and then individually to come up with original legends about animals.

Though beautiful, William Shakespeare's prose can be inhibiting for learners who are new to his works. A activity based on The Tempest guides high schoolers through the paraphrasing process, including noting the subjects and verbs...

First the class analyzes the painting, Rodeo-Pickup Man by Frank Mechau, then they get to work. They explore the painting through verbal descriptions, focusing on vivid language to describe detail. They then compose a written piece using...

Solve a maze ... from a robot's point of view. In the lesson, your scholars build a small, simple maze from cardboard and then find a route from the start point to the finish point. They write an algorithmic process that a robot could...

Provide Ant-Man with a flying device to aid in fighting crime. The first installment of a five-part unit has learners designing and building a flying device for Ant-Man. They write a narrative essay describing the engineering process...

Create your own adventure story ... well, not really. The fifth lesson in a 21-part series has pairs create story contexts for division problems. The lesson presents a step-by-step process for pupils to follow in writing such stories.

Help bring subconscious stereotypes to the surface to stop it in its tracks. Pupils first read an excerpt describing the experience of prejudice and analyze how this process connects to World War II. Then, they write a creative story...

Scholars partner up to review a model essay and talk through the process leading up to writing their essays. During a second reading of the essay, learners locate and underline the claim given, reasons, and counterclaim. They then...

Vaccine development is the focus of a lesson plan that explores its history, timeline, and how the scientific method aids the process. Following a discussion about Edward Jenner and Small Pox, learners answer questions in their journals...

Over two lessons, scholars examine depression—what it is, signs of it, and ways to cope. Through discussion, reading articles, writing a resource, and completing worksheets, participants make their way through the learning process,...

Even history can be the basis for the inquiry process. First, several images of a bowls and vessels used in Japanese tea ceremonies are examined. Then, the class crafts questions about the origin, purpose, and use of the items. They use...

What do bees and children have in common? They both love their sweets. Decorate a flower pot or bucket to look like a brightly colored flower and fill it with wrapped candy and cheese puffs. Have learners reach into grab the candy,...

In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.

As you work through a literary analysis unit based on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," use a writing assessment to measure your class's skills. They choose one epigraph from the story to analyze and track...

Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...

Rock out with the second installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes. Your budding geologists make observations of given rock samples and posit classification systems for rocks. They then learn about the...

Part of being a strong researcher is knowing if you're headed in the right direction. Class members study their research frames formulated in the previous lessons of the unit and decide what parts of their inquiry paths need revision or...

Strong opinions come from deeply held values. Young citizens explore the values that are most important to them in a class discussion and activity. As they prioritize a list of values cards that include freedom,...