Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth...

What is an emergency, why is preparing for one important, and how can your pupils help others prepare for an emergency? Answer these questions and more with a short unit. Learners will participate in a variety of collaborative,...

Boost the confidence of adolescents with a series of self-esteem worksheets. Prompting learners to think about their experiences growing up, this resource helps pupils build a positive self-image and develop strategies for...

Scholars think of a special place, then represent that place through pictures or written words— a poem, song, or short story. Peers show off their organizational skills by reviewing their binders and notebooks, comparing strategies, and...

Following a review of how to research and take notes, scholars define the term paraphrase and identify ways to organize information and finish reports. To put their newfound knowledge to the test, learners interview a peer, take notes,...

Here's a great way to build community during the first days of the new school year. Participants read personal narratives, then craft and share their stories with others.

Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects....

Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...

Pupils produce paragraphs with planning and precision with the four-square writing method, which allows learners to organize the topic, supporting, and summary sentences of their paragraphs. 

Do we really need sunscreen? What are the risks of tanning? Learners explore these questions through a series of informational texts and engaging, hands-on activities.

Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...

How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach,...

Go beyond a traditional end-of-the-year survey and have your middle school pupils compile a portfolio of work illustrating their progression as a writer. 

Unlock the mystery behind seasonal change with a collection of worksheets and activities. Whether they are drawing pictures of Earth's orbit around the sun or graphing the temperature and daylight hours of different locations...

Energize an environmental science unit on natural resources with this collection of instructional materials. From simple coloring sheets for primary grade children, to guiding questions for a high school research...

Add to children's enjoyment of the award-winning novel Maniac Magee with this fun collection of resources. From sequence of events and fact or fiction worksheets, to writing newspaper articles and creating advertisements based...

Encourage creative, independent, and reflective thinking and writing throughout the school year by having your class members keep Interactive Student Notebooks (ISN). Here you'll find a presentation designed to...

Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...

Hosseini Khaled's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are the anchor texts in a semester-long course that explores Afghani culture and traditions.

A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...

Provide some group brainstorming and story-planning time with the fifth lesson in a series on examining and creating documentaries. After you've explained the purpose of each section of a documentary, groups meet to plan the beginning,...

Storyboarding is an essential part of planning a film. Introduce your class to storyboarding and allow groups time to plan out their documentaries in this sixth lesson in a series about creating documentaries. Class members review an...

Wrap up a documentary creation project with the final lesson plan in this series. Class members reflect on their learning and compose responses to four questions relating to what they learned, whey they would do differently, and how the...

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...