In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the two basic forms of reproduction for the living things that practice them.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this lesson, students use a scaffold to help them compile information to write a solid research paper.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Unit of Study
This video was created to introduce middle school students to science fiction as a genre. It was intended for educational and instructional purposes only.
Material Type: Lecture
Introduces and defines the three sentence types: simple, compound, and complex.
Material Type: Lecture
In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students learn how animals' physical characteristics, such as jaw structure, are directly related to the function they perform when the animal interacts with its environment.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
In this lesson designed to enhance literacy skills, students study a disease outbreak and the investigation that followed to understand the role that public health workers play in protecting the communities they serve.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
When you need an example written by a student, check out our vast collection of student models for grades 1-12. Search by grade level or mode of writing such as “explanatory,” “persuasive,” or "narrative."
Material Type: Reading, Student Guide, Teaching/Learning Strategy
Students are introduced to the genre of multimedia presentations through a review and analysis of online presentations. They then apply what they have learned to create their own multimedia presentations.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Unit of Study
Students learn how to walk a mile in someone else's shoes by reading historical fiction about the Underground Railroad.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Unit of Study
In Lesson 1, students focus on the first stave of the novel as they identify the meanings of words and phrases that may be unfamiliar to them. This activity facilitates close examination of and immersion in the text and leads to an understanding of Scrooge before his ghostly experiences. In Lesson 2, students examine Scrooge’s experiences with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future and discover how Dickens used both direct and indirect characterization to create a protagonist who is more than just a stereotype. In Lesson 3, students focus on stave 5 as they identify and articulate themes that permeate the story.
Material Type: Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
This "jigsaw" activity will give students the opportunity to work in groups to summarize a 1 to 2 page informational text. It "jigsaws" down to 1 class summary and can be done in 2 or 3 days. This plan was designed for a class of 22 students but can be easily modified by varying group size.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
In this resource, students will be asked to use a graphic organizer in order to identify and track the development of theme and character in a literary text. Students will use evidence from the text to construct an evidence based response.
Material Type: Student Guide, Teaching/Learning Strategy
What's that sound? Students participate in a Directed Listening-Thinking Activity (DLTA) using "The Tell-Tale Heart," make predictions, and respond in the form of an acrostic poem or comic strip.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This Anne Frank unit is designed with several lessons of various lengths. These lessons are usable in many different disciplines. Using one, several, or all of the lessons will address the unit's objectives to some degree. Students will accomplish some or all of the objectives depending on the number and nature of the lessons in which they participate.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan, Unit of Study
Students read Avi's "Nothing But the Truth" and examine the First Amendment and student rights, and then decide whether the rights of the novel's protagonist, Philip, are violated.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
This eight-week module focuses on a “science and society” topic, engaging students in reading compelling informational text about water sustainability, fresh water management, and how to make evidence-based decisions. In Unit 1, students read the article “Water Is Life” by Barbara Kingsolver as well as excerpts from The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman to build background knowledge about water sustainability and water management. Students determine main ideas and evidence in diverse media and clarify the issue of why humans need to manage water better. They also trace arguments and evaluate the soundness of reasoning and the sufficiency and relevancy of evidence in the texts and media that they engage with in this unit. In Unit 2, students participate in a robust research project in which they investigate the strategies of better agricultural and industrial water management. This research begins with students reading more excerpts from The Big Thirst to scaffold their research skills. Then students conduct internet-based research. To organize their research sources and information, students use a researcher’s notebook. Once they have finished gathering information, students analyze the impact of water management strategies. Find the rest of the EngageNY ELA resources at https://archive.org/details/engageny-ela-archive .
Material Type: Module
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students create book trailers using Microsoft Photo Story 3, a free downloadable software program for digital storytelling.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
Overview of the Vietnam War. Created by Sal Khan.
Material Type: Lesson
One of a set of toolkits to support student development and personal reflection. Produced by students for students.
Material Type: Interactive, Lecture
Students in Grades 5 through 12 read and respond to electronic books by using e-book tools and features, including digital note-taking capabilities.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan
