Develop reading skills in your middle school classroom with this short reading passage. Consider assigning your class a reading strategy to practice as they read the selection. Ten reading comprehension and vocabulary-in-context...

A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...

Intermediate English language learners read the short, page-long story "Ursula Pugh" and answer the multiple choice questions that follow. Most of the questions focus on vocabulary development and understanding of the story. An answer...

It's an erroneous assumption that vocabulary practice must be tedious. Rather than a draconian approach, tantalize your learners with a sentence completion exercise that will enthrall them. A detailed answer key makes the seemingly...

Introduce the terms and concepts related to basic map and geography skills. Terms include full definitions and cover latitude, longitude, the Equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Prime Meridian, and the International Date Line.

Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...

Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...

Are you introducing your class to the horrors of eating unhealthy? This lesson contains 24 reading comprehension questions relating to the non-fiction book. Readers are encouraged to copy these and answer them in their reading...

Talk about a menu! Who would have thought SAT prep could be so delicious? Treat your class to a full course of SAT words with a timed activity that asks groups to create clues for dishes on their bill of fare. Distained veggies anyone?...

One of the most difficult parts of getting a job, is the interview. Learners are each given a card with personal experience and information on it. They respond to an advertisement for a chef position at a Korean restaurant. Each person...

Why is it so important to have consistent verb tense when writing? Discuss some of the implications with your middle and high school classes. Examples are provided, and both incorrect and corrected sentences are shown. There's a lot of...

Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....

The post-Civil War convict leasing program, rarely covered in textbooks, is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to use information drawn from primary source documents to assess the program. While the focus is on Alabama's...

Explore the art and cultural significance of henna hand designs. You engage the class by providing background information that describes who, what, where, when, and why henna designs are used. Then, the class uses the included templates...

"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...

Get an up-close-and personal look at the sun from the safety of your classroom with this fun science application. Offering numerous activities, images, and videos, the resource supports children of all ages as they learn about the sun.

Educate your class about blood alcohol levels by combining health with math practice. Class members read a little bit about blood alcohol concentration and then solve some problems related to determining alcohol levels and alcohol...

Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which the...

Assess your learners on the five themes of geography and the most important key terms and concepts from an introductory geography unit. Here you'll find an assessment with 15 fill-in-the-blank and 14 multiple-choice questions, sections...

Writers light up their manuscripts by embellishing the first letter in their text. The two-page assignment sheet includes colorful samples from twelfth and thirteenth century texts.

Explore the amazing temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest. Your class starts by investigating the animals and plants of the Northwest, specifically Washington, and then research an animal population common to the area. In small...

Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.

No matter the age of your sewing pupils, they will enjoy these activities and projects that develop basic sewing machine use, following patterns, and finally creating a fun project of their own. 

What's the difference between the present perfect and simple past? Have your class practice identifying and using both of these verb tenses through pair activities, whole-class discussion, and a worksheet.