Jacque's soliloquy from Act II, scene ii of As You Like It sets the stage for a close reading exercise that models how to approach difficult, dense text and enables readers to practice reading comprehension and analysis...

Learn about the destruction of the rainforest by analyzing statistics. Young learners make an original line graph showing destruction in the rainforest. Additional activities include making a collage, sequencing Dr. Seuss' The...

Even the most thrilling sports career can end in an asterisk if the player uses performance-enhancing drugs. Focused on the topic of doping in sports, a seventh grade unit breaks down the arguments for and against steroids in five...

Help your seventh graders relate the ELA Common Core standards to their own learning with these "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been translated into a statement that pupils can understand and placed on its own page for...

Track your class's progress on all of the ELA Common Core standards with these handy charts. Along the left side, each seventh grade identifier is listed along with the full text of the standard. As you teach, reteach, assess,...

Motivate young scientists to stand up and take action with this environmental science lesson. To begin, the class works in small groups brainstorming actions that support the conservation of the earth before creating and implementing an...

Develop a system of classroom rules created by the kids, for the kids with this three-part lesson series on the US Constitution. After learning about the structure of the Constitution and the government it established, young...

Use the historical account of Claudette Colvin to study civil rights and connect past injustices to modern issues. As learners read, they examine chapter titles, record quotes, and participate in discussion. Next, they research...

Practice public speaking in this oral presentation lesson. Middle schoolers list the characteristics of a powerful speaker. They watch a video of two speakers, compare them and discuss the qualities of a good speech. Afterwards, they...

Peers discuss cyberbullying and how they can defend their friends that may be bullied online and offline. They discover the value in showing empathy for those who have been cyberbullied. Class members then generate multiple...

Use a Huffington Post article focused on false pictures of Hurricane Sandy to launch a discussion about the reliability of online information. Groups compare and contrast how print and broadcast media regulate...

This Michigan State University site suggests three question-answer relationships strategies, rather than four, leaving out "author and you." Includes examples of each relationship, steps for teaching, and assessment.

Jamie McKenzie's book, Beyond Technology: Questioning, Research and the Information Literate School, emphasizes the need to teach children to ask important questions, then research the answers, instead of just learning information...

This Skillswise site focuses on listening for specifics. Included are a video about why learning how to do this, fact sheets and worksheets for instruction, quizzes on the information presented, and games to practice the skill. The...

An interesting approach to how to analyze a speech. Presents a rhetorical pentangle as well as a rhetorical triangle, where each of the vertices represents an item to analyze. There is also an outline of the different areas to examine in...

An effective use of rubrics that encourages the student storyteller how to determine if his/her audience is listening. Learn about the different listening skill rubrics, storytelling rubrics and a self-assessment guide that asks the...

This website focuses on students the importance of having of outlining; it offers links to the discussion of four outlining concepts: Reasons for outlining, the Preparation outline, the Speaking outline, and the Rough Draft outline.

This is an article that discusses the importance of phone interviewing skills. It gives some brief advice on things to avoid during such an interview.

If you need help working with your students on questioning a text or if you are working on higher-level questioning skills, this is a simple and helpful site. Printable resources available from site.

As part of a revision and writing section of BBC Bitesize, this site goes over several tips of general advice to keep in mind when writing about observations (as part of descriptive writing).