Use drawings as inspiration. Have learners doodle for 10 minutes before beginning the lesson. Then, have them use their doodles to inspire a story. Several writing activities are included here to play with writing. One of my favorites...

Get on those thinking caps, because your class is going to analyze a political cartoon related to the 2008 presidential elections. Included is a large image of the cartoon, background information, and three guiding questions which can be...

Introduce your mini-marine biologists to using databases. Tables of how many Chilean Sea Bass were caught and number of hours spent fishing are examined. Using the data, individuals calculate the "Catch per Unit of Effort" for each year....

Need a journal topic? Whether you use these prompts as part of a persuasive writing unit, or reproduce the download as a one-page handout for your class members, the suggested topics make a great addition to your curriculum library. In...

Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.

What a mess! Read about Lilly-Ann's birthday cupcake surprise and work on grammar skills at the same time. Four lengthy paragraphs provide kids with many opportunities to find and circle adverbs. They note the ways that adverbs come in...

Take a look into the many facets, purposes, and styles of Native American music. Each slide in this well-organized presentation provides clear introductory information on the forms and functions of American tribal music. Use it to...

The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...

Who says reading comprehension exercises can't be fun? Your readers will be engaged with the short story about witch doctor spells that provides the text and the included answer sheet dispells any mystery as to the correct answer. The...

Help your English language learners deduce meaning from context clues. Eight multiple-choice questions are provided here; each one has five answer options. Example vocabulary words include refused, absent, and original. 

An interview with Dr. Rosemary Beam de Azcona launches a study of the complexities of language and how meaning changes across languages and cultures. The investigation continues as class members view clips of the film, The Tailenders,...

There are eight homograph riddles here: can your scholars figure them out? For each, there are three definitions and a picture. Learners use the picture and multiple meanings as clues, recording a word that matches all three. They read...

Designed to be spread across multiple days, this mini-unit gives learners an opportunity to develop family related vocabulary. Start by reading selected pages from "Family Pictures-Cuadros de familia" by Carmen Lomas Garza, and then...

Do bears really sleep for an entire season? Six multiple choice questions and a drawing activity make up a worksheet that tests scholars' comprehension skills after reading about bears during winter.