Here is instructional activity 5 from a 7 instructional activity unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this instructional activity is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use...

Practice vocabulary skills with this word analysis lesson. Middle schoolers examine the roots of unfamiliar words and use their knowledge of roots to discern meaning through word analysis.

Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...

Third graders create reports in the fashion of small books. They write brief descriptions for a variety of topics and answering a variety of questions. They create a picture book for their individual animals. They utilize basic computer...

For this literature circle worksheet, students form groups and choose a leader, summarize the book, discuss journal entries, make connections, and write reflections about the novel they are reading. Students provide short answers for...

Dear Nancy, how do you analyze a letter? Love, Trez. Dear Trez, you use a Letter Analysis Worksheet. Love, Nancy. This richly detailed worksheet provides multiple questions that lead researchers step-by-step through the process of...

Eleventh graders examine the political demands put on one of four groups living in America during WWII. Each class member is asked to research and write a paper describing the homefront experience for women, Hispanics, African-Americans,...

Demonstrate strategies for tackling unfamiliar vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT. Using Visual Thesaurus computer software, middle and high schoolers interpret contextual clues, solve sample sentence completion questions, and...

Introduce young writers to the process of writing a book. Start by reading a book of your choice and discussing the essential elements of any book such as the cover, story, and illustrations as well as who is responsible for each...

You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...

What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this lesson, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about their ideas in a...

What is a Socratic Seminar? Discover this type of discussion and it functions. Split the class into two groups with Group A sitting in an inner circle and Group B in an outer circle. Each person in Group B is assigned to a person in...

Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...

No rules...awesome! Or is it? It's tough for young learners to think about what would happen if a rule didn't exist, but understanding the rules and where they come from helps keep everyone safe. Youngsters write a rule on the front of...

Discover relationships between linear and nonlinear functions. Initially, a set of data seems linear, but upon further exploration, pupils realize the data can model an infinite number of functions. Scholars use multiple representations...

Here is a game that combines exercise with math skills. In this mathematics and P.E. lesson, students hold balloons that have a number written on them, and for a set time do not let the balloons hit the ground. They must catch a balloon...

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...

Over several days, learners communicate and defend an argument regarding environmental justice issues in Chester, PA. After discussing the issue and viewing a video about the location of several toxic waste facilities in Chester, they...

Fun awaits both you and your class as you embark on a musical activity. After discussing different rhythmic meters they choose a poem to set to music. The poem must rhyme and be set to a melody in the key of C Major. Because the activity...

Elementary students explore African American culture by reading children's poetry. They read the book, The Palm of My Heart which features poetry by an assortment of young African American boys and girls. Students define several...

In a perfect marriage of social studies and science, groups work together to research and create a travel guide presentation to share with the class. Not only do kids learn about the climate and geography of a biome, but also the...

The ABC book format is used to organize information found in a Holocaust research project. Class members use the library and/or online resources to collect information and organize their findings under key terms, places, or names. Before...

Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one...