Researching to Build Knowledge and Teaching Others: Inventions That Changed People’s Lives is an eight-week, three-unit module designed for fifth graders. In the first unit of the module, scholars examine and discuss a graphic novel,...

In Unit 2, students continue to build their reading and writing skills and their understanding of how new or improved technologies are developed to meet the needs of society through a case study of Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of...

Fifth graders continue their investigation of the process scientists use to research by reading Kathryn Lasky’s The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy, the story of Meg Lowman, and the research methods she...

The topic of ocean conservation and the impact of human activities on ocean life is the focus of three units in Module 3B. The first unit challenges sixth graders to read Mark Kurlansky’s illustrated book, World without Fish: How Kids...

How does an author’s culture influence their perspective and point of view? Moreover, how does an author’s purpose affect their point of view? These are the questions middle schoolers investigate in a three-unit module that uses works by...

The 12 lessons in the second module unit examine how an author’s point of view and perspective is influenced by his or her geographic location. Florida resident Carl Hiassens’s young adult novel, Flush, about a young man whose father...

The first unit in this three-unit module has sixth-graders read Mark Kurlansky’s illustrated book, World without Fish: How Kids Can Help Save the Oceans. They study how Kurlansky introduces, illustrates, and develops his ideas to convey...

To conclude the module, sixth-graders research factual information about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire to make connections to literary texts about the disaster. After learning about the features of a newspaper article, young...

Where does our food come from? Eighth graders research food chains and the consequences for stakeholders affected by those food chains. Using Michael Pollan’s, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, as a core text, the three units in this module teach...

The three units in Module 2A present seventh-graders with literary and informational texts—Katherine Paterson’s novel Lyddie and a speech by Cesar Chavez—that examine historical and present-day working conditions. Pupils learn how to...

Grade 7 ELA Module 2B examines how society attempts to define individuals and how they try to define themselves. In Unit 1, seventh graders read narratives to gain background knowledge of the concept of personal identity. They learn how...

Rick Riordan’s, The Lightning Thief is the anchor text in a three-unit module that explores the archetypal storyline of the hero’s journey. Sixth graders examine the many mythical illusions in Riordan’s tale. Additionally, they read...

Introduce sixth graders to mythology, its purposes, and its elements. The study begins with 13 lessons in Module 1, Unit 1 collection. Pupils practice their close reading skills with Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief as well as with...

An awareness of historical context and author’s purpose are key to understanding informational text. The 15 lessons in the Module 3, Unit 1 collection provide seventh graders with background information about slavery and the debate over...

The final unit in Module 3A focuses on research skills. The 10 lessons in the collection have students examining how businesses can impact working conditions. Using a case study of the garment industry, class members learn to gather...

The final unit in the 2b Module has seventh graders  researching how media and advertising perpetuate gender stereotypes. To begin, class members examine the role of gender in Pygmalion, look at advertising in the 1890s, and read the...

Module 4 is all about food, where it comes from, and what happens to it before it gets to the consumer. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan is the anchor text of a collection made up of 15 lessons. In Unit 1, scholars evaluate an...

The W.7.7, W.7.8, and W.7.9 Common Core standards revolve around conducting, gathering, and presenting research. Solid research skills will serve your students well across the disciplines throughout their academic, and perhaps...

What is voting? How do I vote? Why should I vote? Who do I vote for? These are all important questions that first time, or even veteran voters might ask themselves as election season approaches them. Here is a collection that examines...