Turn your 6th graders into detectives while growing their love of reading. Using critical thinking skills, they will be able to describe the five basic elements of detective fiction, read detective novels, make predictions, use the...

Before your high schoolers read Julius Caesar, have them complete this thought-provoking activity! To familiarize them with some of the play's most important lines, break the class into pairs and have them create a skit around...

Analyze various excerpts from Hamlet and read articles to develop an argument about his sanity. Middle and high schoolers write an argument essay defending whether or not they believe Hamlet is insane. You could modify this assignment...

Learners describe the life of a Native American tribe native to their area. They form small groups and visit stations in the classroom to read about various Native American tribes. They write journal entries and draw pictures of the...

 Young, yet experienced, Spanish learners learn words like noche, dia, luz, and cielo as they read the story La Noche de Las Estrellas by Douglas Gutierrez. The first time you read...

Learners explore pumpkins through numerous hands-on activities. They read the book, "Pumpkin, Pumpkin." Students create a story wheel. They illustrate sections of the book. Learners design a mural, create a paper pumpkin patch, and write...

Noughts and Crosses, the classic English game called tic-tac-toe in America, has an educational twist in a fundamental phonics matching activity. Emerging readers will take great pleasure in recognizing and reading nine simple CVC words...

Fifth graders explore historical fiction. For this genre study lesson, 5th graders go on a text feature scavenger hunt to identify the parts of a historical fiction text. Additionally, students read the book, My Secret War and discuss...

First graders identify details that make reading and writing more interesting. They classify events, people, places, and things and attach specific characteristics to each one. Everyone generates describing words on a worksheet that's...

As an introductory activity to Mississippi Trial, 1955, class members use color-coded dots to respond anonymously to a series of statements about prejudice and responsibility to their fellow-man that are posted about the room. The...

How do discerning readers determine bias and credibility? Ask small groups to figure it out! First, each group is provided with either articles or videos that contain bias. They examine the resources, respond to included questions, and...

If you are reading works by Walter Dean Myers in your class, this resource might be worth a look. Included here are activities and discussion questions for Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary, Somewhere in the Darkness, Scorpions, Fallen...

From baseball and tennis to capture the flag and four-square, here is a great document that will help you design your next unit on a sport-related activity. 

Guide your readers to explore character traits. As a class, discuss and record the traits of a commonly-known fairy tale character. Then do the same with the main character in the class novel. Finally, have learners use magazines...

Students explore about big books. They create a big book version of a favorite story or an ABC book about a favorite topic. Students describe the size of a book. Students are explained that big books are books that have large pictures...

Begin the school year with enthusiasm using the book entitled My Teacher Can Teach Anyone! In this reading for meaning lesson, primary readers listen to the story and discuss what is happening and why the boy in the story might be...

Young learners compare healthy foods to junk foods. They examine the growing process of a vegetable from a seed all the way to maturity. The book, The Magic School Bus in a Pickle is used. Some nice cross-curricular activities in math,...

Learners play a game of questioning with the teacher after reading silently a beginning passage of text. They and teacher request specific information from each other until students are able to summarize and predict the outcome of the...

Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "The Northern Colonies: Quest for Freedom," assess the diseases that killed Native Americans as well as the causes for the spread of disease during this time period. They contemplate medical...

Based on an examination of Florida's railroad system, this multi-step lesson addresses FCAT requirements specific to Florida. After reading a passage, scholars use a map of the state to label railroad systems. They describe the goods...

Great real-world math application! Have the class compare and contrast their estimated home price and income data with actual data. In groups, they participate in simulations to discover how the housing market and mortgages operate....

Provide pupils samples of different types of poems including haikus, narrative, nonsense, shape, and rhyming poems. In groups, class members read the poems, establish their general meaning, identify poetic devices, and rate the poems,...

Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...

Dander from the show Twisted Whiskers and characters from My Little Pony are featured in this three part lesson that explores using story pyramids to scaffold ideas, adding sensory details to enrich writing, and editing using common...