Are you planning to have a guest speaker talk to your class? Prepare in advance and help your class transform into an engaged and thoughtful audience. Before the visit, young writers work cooperatively to brainstorm what they want to...

Pupils review the main points of note-taking to summarize the content of a formal or informal spoken presentation. They hear a guest speaker talk about a pre-arranged topic and take notes during the presentation. Next, they write a...

Young community members explore philanthropic foundations. They discuss the work of community foundations, and then they listen to a guest speaker describe the vision and activities of a local foundation. Is there a way they can join the...

It's never too early to connect children with the real world meaning of their work. A series of four one-hour sessions, plus a field trip, make up this unit on college and career readiness for first and second graders. After viewing a...

Students participate in a lesson of listening to a guest speaker. They pay attention to the information and are active in taking notes, generating follow up questions, and summarizing the presentation. Students practice clear speaking...

Would you stand up for your beliefs, no matter the cost? Scholars investigate their own families to uncover examples of how and when someone stood up for their ideals. Using video clips, interviews, and eulogies, they come to understand...

Making a decision can be more like a multiple-choice question than a yes/no one. Through a series of activities, middle schoolers learn how to consider and identify options, choices, and alternatives when faced with an important decision.

A lesson dives deep into reference materials. The class begins with a discussion of which resources are best used for specific purposes and how to identify ways to get the needed information. Learners share information about the internet...

How do you determine an author’s purpose? You ask the author, of course. Invite a local journalist into the class to respond to scripted student questions about his/her writing process. A review of basic classroom etiquette is also...

What is the air quality index? Start by discussing pollution and air quality with your budding environmentalists. A list of instructional activities are provided here from inviting a guest speaker into your classroom to discussing...

Students respond to a situation presented about the wetlands. In this wetlands instructional activity, students understand the various opinions over the use of areas in the wetlands. Students complete a worksheet using critical thinking...

Do military recruiters plan to visit your campus? If so, the visit presents an opportunity for class members to engage in a series of action projects. Class members interview recruiters, propose a PTA meeting to discuss the pros and cons...

Ensure that your pupils keep their coordinate adjectives separated with commas. For this practice exercise, learners determine if five sets of adjectives are coordinate or not. They rewrite the necessary sentences to include commas.

Life is not always fair. Who's heard that before? This same concept moves to a larger scale using prejudice and bias. Pupils discuss where prejudice attitudes derive and how they develop throughout life. Reading comprehension...

Whose responsibility is it to improve schools in developing countries? How does quality education affect my neighborhood? Questions of responsibility, whether global or local, form the heart of this lesson plan. Using the UN’s Millennium...

Eight various activities have your learners looking at hype in the media. Advertisements for films, politics, music, and philanthropy all contribute to emotional appeals and marketing strategies trying to convince consumers to...

All rise! Scholars put their skills to the test in a mock trial. Using evidence, photographs, and testimony, they role play the trial in the classroom. Rules of law—and the court room—come to life as the class becomes a place of law! 

Students design informational materials to educate people on the importance of matching a new pet to the family's lifestyle and living arrangements. Students use critical thinking skills to make a decision on the appropriate choice for a...

If you want to test your class' ability to identify the speaker of quotes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this online interactive quiz may be right for you!

Find out how accomplished your class is at identifying quotes with this online interactive quiz. This quiz provides ten quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Class members identify the speaker by choosing one of four given...

Have your class identify the speaker of these quotes, choosing one (or two) to write about in detail. Students should describe why the quotation is important to the story and if it illustrates a pivotal point in the novel.

Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...

Learners effectively research using the internet, encylopedias, magazines and newspapers. They desegregate into needed and un-needed information based on their research findings. Pupils recognize and appropriately site sources using a...

Learners explore U.S. immigration policies. In this immigration instructional activity, students read about the history of immigration policies in the U.S., uncover controversial issues regarding immigration, and speak to immigrants as...