After examining a short passage about the Mississippi River system, readers use the provided graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in the article.

A passage from Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables provides young readers with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in a paragraph.

Guide learners through a discussion about Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a helpful graphic organizer. As they read through the novel, individuals note their reactions to statements about the book's themes, and fill out...

Group members role play state legislators, supporters of and opponents to the The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors). After listening to the arguments put forth for and against the immigration...

Use essential elements cards to help lesson plan! Each card contains an informational text common core standard for grade levels six through eight and suggestions for activities and supports. Cards address skills such as citing textual...

Close your colonial America unit with a performance-based assessment. Class members will show their proficiency in several skills including using details to back up inferences, determining the meaning of words in context,...

What was life like in colonial America? Follow this lesson and your pupils will find out what people in colonial times did for work and for fun. Ask learners to compare and contrast the two texts and explain what the reading helped them...

Ask your learners to synthesize what they know about Waiting for the Biblioburro by writing a well-organized paragraph. Young writers focus on using transition words and including specific details in their paragraphs. The plan allows for...

What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...

Case studies, an examination of images, and readings of passages from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child are used to spark conversations in ESL/ELD social studies classes about this highly-charged topic. Using a variety of...

Women gained the right to vote in the twentieth century, but the fight for equality dates back centuries. Using an invitation to an 1874 suffrage convention, eager historians consider the motivations behind supporters of the suffrage...

Listen, protect, connect! Using the resource, teachers learn how psychological first aid helps scholars adjust after a crisis or school emergency. They discover how to observe changes in pupils' school performance, listen and offer...

While there may not be any ghostbusters in the neighborhood, there are plenty of emergency response agencies ready to give support if something is amiss. To that end, instructors invite a member of an emergency response agency to address...

Scholars participate in two activities that teach them to identify the main idea and key supporting details in informational text. Partners create a visual that reflects the main idea and key supporting details in an informational text...

Class members conclude their reading of the supplemental text, “Bangladesh Factory Collapse: Who Really Pays for our Cheap Clothes?” and use the provided Evaluating Argument and Evidence Tool to analyze the evidence Anna McMullen uses to...

The Sugar Changed the World chapter, "The Sound of Liberty," highlights how the differing attitudes toward the slave trade shifted the issue from an economic concern to a concern for human rights. The passage contrasts Thomas Jefferson's...

Science over humanity? Scholars analyze an excerpt from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. They must consider if the experimentation of Henrietta's cells without her consent was worth the information gained about cancer. They discuss...

It's time for the grand finale! Scholars finalize their learning in a two-part end-of-unit assessment. This assessment covers multiple standards as learners demonstrate their understanding of the central idea, comprehension, and...

Don't argue with me! Scholars first evaluate the argument in The Big Thirst. Learners work with partners to determine if the text supplies enough evidence to support the claim. They then complete a Tracing an Argument Note catcher for...

Sometimes differing arguments support the same claim. Scholars complete a graphic organizer comparing how two authors support the claim that people need to better manage the world's water supply. Pupils also complete a graphic organizer...

Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...

Motivate your class with this worksheet on apartheid. After responding to several pre-reading questions, learners read and mark 2 articles: 1 about the Soweto Uprising and 1 about Nelson Mandela. They then respond to 4 short answer...

Students read Arthur's Pet Business and  complete a pre-writing worksheet for expository writing.  In this paragraph writing lesson, students gather and organize material for a paragraph about pets.

Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...