Students explore works of nonfiction. In this nonfiction genre focus lesson, students activate prior knowledge of nonfiction, identify the types of narrative and informative nonfiction, and analyze a word of nonfiction.

Upper graders read several passages to gain an understanding of the nations that have adopted a constitution similar to the United States Constitution. This is a scripted lesson that is intended to build content-specific vocabulary and...

Fifth graders brainstorm a list of holidays celebrated by a majority of people in the United States. They each select an American holiday from the list as well as another country that may have a holiday that is similar. Next, they...

If you are planning on working on a research paper in your class, take a look at this resource first. Starting off with information about plagiarism, the series of activities briefly described here should give your pupils a general idea...

If you’re going to get a tattoo, make sure your artist writes it right because it’s hard to correct their inkings. That’s the big idea in this short lesson on commonly misspelled words like their/there/they’re and it’s/its.  Images...

Sketch out weekly plans for reading, writing, math, and small group instruction, noting standards that will be addressed, materials to be used, and the lesson focus, on a one-page form. A great way to see the week at a glance. Eight...

This lesson will focus on the aspects of Shakespeare's comedy that become more evident in performance. By viewing clips of the same Shakespeare scene in different film versions, high schoolers have the opportunity to engage in a close...

When do people ask for anonymity? Why? After reading the New York Times article "For a Reporter and a Source, Echoes of Broken Promise," young readers participate in a roundtable discussion focusing on freedom of the press and the use of...

Fourth graders discover the country of Iceland. They investigate Iceland's history, culture, and geography using hands-on materials. They engage in a multi-day instructional activity. Each day focuses on a different aspect of Iceland. A...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select...

Pupils analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of the anti-lynching...

Brian Jacques’ novel Redwall provides the focus for a series of lessons involving the analysis of folklore. Adopting the persona of a character, groups write letters in the voice of their character, assemble a collage using Microsoft...

Africa and the Middle East are the focus of this Social Studies PowerPoint. After viewing many slides that are packed with historical facts, viewers answer questions such as, "How was the struggle for independence in Algeria different...

To illuminate how afterimage occurs, create a star, square, or other geometric-shaped light for learners to look at for 30 seconds. Then, have them explain what they see as they shift their focus to a blank wall. A full explanation of...

How can word choice affect a political speech? Middle and high schoolers examine the text of the 1999 State of the Union Address, and then determine how newspaper articles and television reports describe and analyze the event. Use this...

Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....

An outstanding lesson on triangles awaits your math scholars. Learners focus on the triangle, which is the strongest of all polygons. They see the role that triangles play in the design of buildings, and learn about triangle...

Many muralists throughout history have focused on using their art to represent aspects of their culture or community. After thoroughly researching several muralists, budding artists will create a larger than life mural that contains...

Take a close look at news reporting techniques and global issues. Begin by creating a graphic representation of developing nations and defining the term. After class discussion, the second day's activities pick up by deconstructing news...

Can any good come from acts of evil? The 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and the eventual outcomes of the tragedy, are the focus of a lesson that asks groups to examine primary source documents...

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

The post-Revolutionary Period of 1781-1787, also known as the Critical Period, is the focus of a series of lessons that prompt class members to examine primary source documents that reveal the instability of the period of the...