What do Beethoven, Bob Dylan, and Pharrell all have in common? Works by these three musicians are used to launch a study of poetry. Class members listen to passages from the music and craft a quick write about how the music makes them...

A discussion begins a lesson plan on comparing numbers. Pupils explain how they can show a number, then visit math centers to explore number-making tools. A story read-aloud of More or Less by Stuart Murphy identifies language for...

Sometimes a picture reflects a thousand descriptive words. To illustrate the importance of sensory words in descriptive writing, scholars listen to a song and craft a painting in response. After sharing their work with the class,...

Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" is a bit of a puzzle. Critics have long debated Montresor's motives for killing Fortunato. Young scholars examine examples of the three types of irony (verbal, dramatic, and...

"The Wife of Bath's Tale" and "The Pardoner, His Prologue, and His Tale" from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales take center stage in a lesson that asks scholars to update the tales, craft a script, and either video their version or act it out...

Teach young scholars how to determine the theme of a story, an insight the author wants to share with readers, with a instructional activity that uses Guy de Maupassant's "The Necklace" as an anchor text. Learners examine the internal...

Good literature can be much like an iceberg requiring readers to presume that the bulk of the meaning may be inferred to be found below the surface. Here's a lesson that asks scholars to conduct a close reading of passages from The...

Introduce young poets to Blackout Poetry. Much like Found Poems, Blackout Poetry challenges scholars to rethink the process writers may use to craft their poems. After watching a short video in which poet Austin Kleon describes his...

"What are fractions composed of?" is the essential question of a lesson designed to enhance understanding and strengthen the foundation of adding fractions. Mathematicians start by discussing what makes an equation true or false,...

Reinforce multiplication strategies with a instructional activity that examines a word problem and the distributive property. Mathematicians work collaboratively to solve the problem, create a poster with their solution, and share their...

James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides readers with an opportunity to consider how they can support others who are experiencing distress. Participants learn self-care tips and connect to the short story's characters. They...

The second session in the two-part "Building Arguments with Evidence" lesson asks scholars to craft an argument essay on a topic of interest to them. Writers establish a claim, locate evidence, and justify their stance.

In the first lesson in a two-part series, high schoolers pick a social issue important to them and examine an article about the topic, the arguments and evidence used to support the writer's stance, and craft two counter-arguments to the...

After reading The Mitten by Jan Brett, scholars discuss the author's purpose. Small groups compare and contrast a book written to entertain and a book to inform, then create a T-Chart detailing the characteristics of...

Following an engaging video, mathematicians solve a word problem about baking cupcakes using fractions. Scholars practice different problem-solving strategies, then find different ingredient amounts for their recipes. Pupils solve a...

Learning to edit copy using correct grammar and mechanics is an essential skill in school—where scholars are called upon to edit their peers' writing—and in business. Class members practice this skill by first editing a provided article...

What are the effects of one's life experiences? Class members view a slam poetry reading, a speech by President Obama, and read a short story by John Steinbeck about responding to tragedies. They summarize these events and then craft a...

"Who am I?" is not only a great philosophical question that requires a lot of reflection but is also at the heart of a letter of introduction. The challenge, of course, is figuring out where to start. Middle schoolers get a little help...

Don't you wish you could use passive voice? Be careful what you wish for! "The Monkey's Paw" is the focus of a grammar and language usage lesson about active and passive voice. Readers identify examples of active and passive voice in...

FANBOYS will enjoy breaking grammar rules, but they will have to use coordinating conjunctions, gerunds, compound sentences, compound-complex sentences, and even predicates as they craft poems like Shel Silverstein.

One only has to watch MSMBC and FOX News to realize that media can present the same story in very different ways. Middle schoolers have an opportunity to test their ability to determine the validity and trustworthiness of information by...

John Hughes' The Breakfast Club takes center stage in a instructional activity about annotating nonfiction texts to keep track of evidence that may be used later in discussions and writings. Scholars consider the stereotypes and...

Which came first—the painting or the poem? In this case, it is the painting. Scholars closely examine a work of art and then craft an ekphrastic poem in response. A carefully scaffolded nine-page plan leads young poets through the process.

Is Antigone relevant to today's readers? After reading Sophocles' tragedy, scholars must decide if the themes are universal and timeless. Class members engage in a series of activities designed to have them closely consider the...