Scholastic
Building Trust in a Classroom
Check out these three great trust-building activities that will help your young learners understand the importance of safe, trusting relationships and environments.
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Sun and Shadows
Why do shadows look different in the summer than in the winter? What causes day and night? How can a sundial be used to tell time? Answer these questions and more through two engaging lessons about light and shadows. Fourth and fifth...
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Test-Driving Computers
A new form of standardized testing? Learners evaluate arguments for and against the use of computer-based standardized tests in schools. They express their views through discussion and explore the views of others through the creation and...
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Deep Impact
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...
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Get the Message?
Remember Morse Code? High schoolers investigate ways in which people communicate and assess which communication methods are appropriate and effective in different situations. They evaluate how constant changes in the world of technology...
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Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
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New Gun Control Politics: A Whimper, Not a Bang
Using an article from The New York Times, students answer discussion questions about gun control. They are divided into four groups to research different standpoints on gun control, including the Executive Office, Congress, Gun Control...
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The End?
This lesson asks young readers to predict what will happen to Harry Potter. While the question has been answered by the last book and film in the series, the concept and links provided by The New York Times’ Learning Network are...
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Making the Old New Again
How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest version...
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Prisoner in One's Own Home
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching additional...
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That's Moor Like It!
How do modern adaptations of Shakespearean plays relate to their original source material? Middle and high schoolers focus on Shakespeare's play Othello and its screen adaptation "O" to explore how modern film adaptations of Shakespeare...
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Validating Votes
Explore the discrepancies in Florida's vote counting process in 2000 and 2002 with this New York Times reading lesson plan. Middle schoolers study the viewpoints presented in informational text, paying attention to how word choice can...
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A Way with Words
How do facts and opinions impact the news? After reading "How to Cover a War" from the New York Times, middle schoolers evaluate the claims in the article. They also consider the media's responsibilities in reporting during wartime....
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Knowing Write from Wrong
Explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. Writers develop pages for a basic writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common writing errors. A great way to...
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Making a Magic Kingdom
Students develop a list of things to consider when developing an amusement park. After reading an article, they discover what issues arose when designing the new Disney park in California. In groups, they develop plastic models of an...
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The Winter Olympics' Tale
Students look back at the athletes, events and related news surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and present brief newscasts recapping the highlights of individual sports.
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What's the Story?
Students explore how the same news story can be presented differently through various journalistic styles. They discuss the unique characteristics of each style and find articles on the same event in each of the different styles.
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When Human Rights Are Wronged
Students explore the concept of human rights by examining the arresting of prominent Chinese dissidents who are members of the China Democratic Party. They develop and defend their own Bill of Human Rights and write a reflective essay.
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This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land
Students explore the difficulties, and some absurd situations, caused by repeated land subdivisions in the rural areas of poor and overpopulated regions.
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Chilling Predictions
Students research and prepare an almanac on the Arctic. They examine the laws that attempt to provide jurisdiction over this area and consider how these laws be affected if geography of the Arctic continues to change due to global warming.
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The Way to Venezuela
Learners investigate various facets of Venezuelan culture, politics, history and current events to develop an introductory chapter of a guidebook to the country.
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Left to Their Own (Literary) Devices
Students write scenes for stories using their own original characters. However, they write using the literary and plot devices found in the Lemony Snicket book series.
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Book Party
Students compile a list of titles and authors worthy of having their own festivals, then research and write proposals outlining the activities for a specific book festival. They write analytical letters from the perspective of the author...
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A Change of Scene
Students evaluate their school's theater space. They study about the renovations to the University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium by reading and discussing the article "Michigan's Gem of an Auditorium Glitters Again." They then determine...