Teach4Tomorrow

This activity is a wonderful way to get your students to better understand the checks and balances between the three branches of U.S. government. There is a student-friendly one page reading. As students read, they can fill out the graphic organizer using terms from a word bank. Included is a "check for understanding" formative assessment cloze style paragraph for them to fill-in. Also included is a 15 question True/False quiz with an answer key. Graphic organizers like this one are a great

This is a fantastic set of activities for students learning about modern United States and World or Middle Eastern History. There is a 2 page reading about key issues and conflicts between the USA and the Middle East from the 1970's until present day, including: the OPEC Oil Embargo, Camp David Accords, Iran Hostage Crisis, Iran Contra Affair, Persian Gulf War, September 11 Terrorist Attacks, War on Terror and War in Iraq. There is a graphic organizer in which your students can match the event

Description: This is a short project that has students researching the conflict surrounding the global chocolate and diamond industries to produce a persuasive essay. I usually do this project around Valentine’s day because students’ awareness of the two industries is heightened. This project, however, would fit well into any Social Studies unit that explores global economics and politics. Included is the student hand-out, a persuasive essay grading rubric, and a list of possible internet s

Need help getting your students to understand what a thesis statement is? This is a great set of activities to help them write and identify thesis statements. First, there is a student-friendly reading that explains thesis statements. Next, there is an activity in which students learn that good thesis statements are arguable by writing the opposing side of 10 sample thesis statements. Finally, there is an activity in which students read four sample paragraphs and identify the thesis statement

This is a fantastic activity for a U.S. History, English Language Arts, Humanities, or Global Studies class. Students first listen to Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit, a jazz / blues song about the horrors of lynching during America's Jim Crow era. They then analyze the song, research some of the history behind it, and write a reflection using a song from their own playlist. A great follow-up or extension activity could be for students to research activists like Ida B. Wells who worked to estab

As your students complete the reading (Lexile 800), they can fill in the blank Venn diagram with information about the similarities and differences between the Jim Crow Segregation Laws in the United States and the Nuremberg Laws in Nazi Germany. Then, you can decide if you want to let them use the Venn as a scaffolded support as they take the 20-question reading comprehension quiz. Answer key provided. Venn diagrams are a great way for all students, including ESL / EL and SPED to "chunk" new ac

This is a simple one page reading and accompanying graphic organizer to introduce your students to five important federal agencies - the Department of Education, Department of Defense, Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of the Treasury.

This is a fantastic activity to help your students better understand the modern American presidents including Richard Nixon through Joe Biden. A student-friendly document provides information on each president's years in office, political party, campaign promises, domestic policy achievements, foreign policy achievements, and challenges / scandals. As students read, they fill in the graphic organizer. You can decide if you would like them to be able to use their graphic organizer on the 20 qu

This is a fantastic graphic organizer for anyone teaching the ancient river valley civilizations. It includes an answer key and a simple one-page reading with a paragraph on each of the four civilizations. After they do the reading, students match terms from a word bank of 32 items to the appropriate river valley civilization (Tigris/Euphrates, Nile, Indus, or Yellow rivers). Students categorize the information under time period, location, type of government / legal system, main crop, and inv

This is a great activity that can stand alone and/or accompany the reading of any horror story like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It is also a fun Halloween activity for grades 7-12. Students create their own monster by answering 10 key questions about its origin, special powers, motivations, signature behaviors, weaknesses, etc. Then they draw a detailed picture of their monster. Finally, they are asked to select one of the following essay questions to answer: Write a full backstory for you

This is a fun story to get your students some practice with finding and editing mistakes. The 2 page story is about a young Italian man named Marco who works at the Lamborghini factory. There are 25 spelling and grammar mistakes sprinkled throughout the story for your students to find and correct. This is great practice for standardized tests like the STAAR EOC in English I or English II. Answer key is included.

This is a great way for students to practice locating / identifying common literary devices in a text. Included is a two page story about a young man who wants to ask a friend to the Homecoming dance. Embedded in the story are twenty examples of literary devices including: alliteration, assonance, hyperbole, personification, oxymoron, allusion, metaphor, imagery, onomatopoeia, and simile. An answer key is also included.

This is a simple two-page reading and graphic organizer to introduce your students to the economic systems of capitalism, communism and socialism.

This is a simple 1.5 page reading and graphic organizer to help your students understand some fundamentals of personal financial literacy.

This is a great activity for students who are learning about the Roaring 1920's / Jazz Age. There is a student-friendly one page reading on 12 leading historical figures of the 1920's, including presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover, as well as business leaders like Henry Ford and cultural icons like Langston Hughes and Louis Armstrong. Students then use the reading to match up names and descriptions. Finally, students are asked to write a paragraph on which historical figure they think ha

This is a great activity for busy English Language Arts teachers! It can be used for any book or short story in any class at any level. Students are asked to think of two characters from the story and create a music playlist that represents their relationship. There is an essay that goes along with the activity in which students are asked to detail key personality traits of each character and analyze their relationship using evidence from the story.

This is a great activity to get your students thinking about the similarities and differences between the American Revolution and the French Revolution. There is a one-page reading that touches on key leaders, reasons for, philosophies behind, major events and lasting legacies of both revolutions. A blank Venn diagram is provided for your students to take notes in. Finally, a 10 question reading comprehension quiz and answer key is included. This activity works well individually, but also gre

This is a great activity for any students reading Brave New World as a novel study or even just reading a small passage(s) from the book. Students are asked to create a new logo for World State - something that will be displayed throughout the society on their uniforms, flying vehicles, factories, etc. Students will draw the new logo, then explain their artistic choices in a paragraph and, finally, defend their choices using specific evidence from the text.

This is a great set of activities to get your students thinking about civic duties and responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, obeying laws, paying taxes, community involvement and defending the country. There is a student-friendly two page reading, a graphic organizer, and a 15 question multiple choice quiz with an answer key. There is also an essay prompt: When everyone does their part, it makes the United States a stronger, fairer, and safer place for everyone. Select two civic duties f

I've analyzed the released STAAR EOC tests so you don't have to! Here is a timeline you can have your students create and memorize to help them be ready for their Texas STAAR End of Course exam in U.S. History. I went through the released items on the newly redesigned tests and compiled a list of events that seem to be tested the most often. If the timeline looks a little random - that's only because it focuses completely on what is most commonly tested.