What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

What does your class know about logical fallacies? They can find out quite a bit and practice identifying logical fallacies if you follow the steps and use the resources provided here! After reviewing ethos, pathos, and logos, ask small...

For this text analysis worksheet, students examine different types of texts and identify each one by matching them from a list. Students determine what each text communicates and for whom.

The California Gold Rush rewrote the history of the American West, but especially that of San Francisco. After analyzing images of the city and primary sources, such as a diary entry, scholars discuss these changes. Scaffolded questions...

Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.

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...

Learners explore characterization. In this characterization lesson, students give analytical responses to questions and determine a character's beliefs. Learners use the school mission statement to develop two beliefs that the statement...

The class finds and cites evidence showing India's unity in diversity and work to recognize some of the complex interactions of a civilized community. They read to understand how geography, history, politics, economics,...

Learners explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.

As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

All the Common Core standards are important, but they all build off the ability to cite textual evidence to support analysis. See how to scaffold this standard into three steps of development, along with assessment ideas with the ideas...

Fifth graders experiment with student-made aluminum boats to test for buoyancy. They design a boat and determine how many marbles it takes to sink it while recording their data in a spreadsheet. They design a graph using the data and...

Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...

The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...

Students conduct a statistical research project on population changes. They evaluate demographic issues, such as the size and location of native people. immigrant groups, and the age and gender of the population.

“What is the theme of this story?” Now there’s a question all pupils dread. Rather than encountering a sea of faces that look like they were painted by Edward Munch, face a classroom filled with smiles and confidence. Show your readers...

Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be instructional activityed by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic...

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce’s short story, is used to model how structural moves, the decisions an author makes about setting, point of view, time order, etc., can be examined to reveal an author’s purpose. Groups...

“Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.” “War is not healthy for children and other living things.” These two views of war, embodied in George Patton’s statement and Lorraine Schneider‘s famous 1966...

To gain an understanding of the significance of Galileo Galilei's revolutionary ideas, class members watch the short video "Stargazing Before Galileo," and conduct a close reading of Galileo's Sidereal Messsenger. They then...

What is a white elephant, and what does it have to do with Ernest Hemingway? Study "Hills Like White Elephants" in-depth by following the procedures outlined in this lesson, the fifth in a series of fourteen. Learners start the day with...

Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...

How do all the lessons and activities you have planned for your class align to Common Core State Standards? This can feel like a very daunting question. Help ease the process by referencing a template that not only lists and...