A happy discovery occurred in Arkansas in 2004: a woodpecker, believed to be extinct since the 1940s, reappeared! Or did it? Middle to high school ecologists examine scientific evidence and use critical-thinking skills to determine...

Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.

Use a Mad-Libs like activity to create modern poetry! Writers will identify different words and their parts of speech and study "The Red Wheelbarrow" by Williams Carlos Williams. Then, use the sheets attached to craft your own poem! An...

In this vocabulary worksheet, students choose the best answer from the four possibilities to compete each of the eight sentences. The worksheet is intended to be used with advanced English language learners.

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.

Engage scholars in a ratio lesson that employs real-world scenarios. Learners will compare the length and width of pictures and use a table to identify ratio patterns. They watch "Math Can Take You Places" and discuss jobs that use math...

Students explore the concept of linear regression. In this linear regression lesson, students find the line of best fit for a set of data pertaining to a frog population. Students use their line of best fit to predict the frog population...

Consider complex numbers, roots, and quadratic equations. Use the discriminate as a way to determine the nature of a quadratic's roots. Then discuss the similarities and differences between quadratics with two, one, or no real roots....

Young leearners identify subsets of the real number system and play a number game to identify natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, rational and irrational numbers.

Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....

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,...

Help your young writers recognize the importance of composing formal letters. Middle schoolers read letters written by Thomas Jefferson and analyze the components that make it a formal letter.  They will then compose their own...

Sixth graders investigate local water. In this water cycle lesson, 6th graders take samples from surrounding water sources. Students record data from the samples, compare and graph the results.

Using Google SketchUp, learners draw a model of their bedroom. They begin by measuring the dimensions of their bedroom, inputting this information into the software program, and calculating perimeter and area. This is an interesting and...

After having a class discussion on the three states of matter, young scientists utilize the wonderful substance, Oobleck in order to experience something that changes states of matter. They also create "sparkle jars" which...

Through inquiry and exploration, 4th graders will learn and understand the functions of open and closed circuits. They will break into 2 groups, define vocabulary, hypothesize how to light a bulb, then test their hypothesis 4 different...

Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...

Direct your class’s attention to the elements that make their community unique. After examining sample travel brochures, groups select something from their community to use as the subject, and then research, create, and publish a...

The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts lesson plan. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American Revolution,...

To practice reading high-frequency words fluently, learners play a fishing game at a learning center. They take turns fishing; each fish contains a single high-frequency word. To keep the fish they caught, they must be able to read the...

Scholars play high-frequency word baseball, pretending to be a pitcher and a batter. Players take turns choosing baseballs with high-frequency words printed on them. If they read the word correctly, they move to the next base until they...

Play this fun adaptation of the game Memory. Young scholars flip over high-frequency word cards, read them aloud, and keep them if they match.

Go bowling for high-frequency words! Partners take turns drawing bowling ball cards and read the word printed on them. If the learner is successful, they record their score on a scorecard.

Using a familiar decodable text, pairs take turns reading sentences. The partner who isn't reading follows along silently, helping if needed. They alternate sentences until the entire book is finished and then reverse to read the other...