Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth...

Join the newspaper business with a series of lessons and exercises focused on elements of journalism. The packet focuses on distinguishing fact from opinion, writing effective headlines, sequencing events, and editing and...

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

Examine human resilience across two texts with a detailed unit. Over the course of a week, learners will conduct a close reading of excerpts from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar. The resource includes clear procedures for reading and...

Encourage your middle and high schoolers to share their memories of a recent event. After reading a New York Times article, they discuss Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. They write their own memoir about a significant event that affected...

Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...

Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...

How has the Internet of Things affected our lives? Scholars examine the massive influence of mobile devices in this analysis lesson, which begins with a seven-minute documentary clip. They also read a New York Times article (linked)...

How much does your class know about the relationship between climate change and carbon dioxide? Science scholars explore the nature of greenhouse gases and rising ocean temperature through demonstrations, research, and experiments. The...

Before your students reached your morning class to learn about persuasive writing, they probably saw dozens of examples of persuasive communication in the form of advertisements. A short, introductory lesson inspires class members to...

Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...

Scratching your head when it comes to engaging writing prompts? Check out a list of prompts designed for middle school classes, which includes topics for persuasive writing, expository writing, how-to essays, personal narratives, and...

To broaden their understanding of both the short term and long terms effects of the Civil War, class groups examine primary source materials and then assume the role of a family member and draft a letter to a soldier describing life at...

Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...

How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach,...

Collect evidence and reasons and fill them in on this page to prepare for presenting an argument. Learners can evaluate what they are missing and make sure they fill in each line and bubble before considering their argument complete.

Add to children's enjoyment of the award-winning novel Maniac Magee with this fun collection of resources. From sequence of events and fact or fiction worksheets, to writing newspaper articles and creating advertisements based...

Who do the kids in your class look up to? Have them describe their heroes with a writing prompt. The prompt encourages kids to explain why this person is important to them, and what actions the hero has done that make him or her a...

Write about another time and place to live with an interesting writing prompt. It presents young writers with the challenge of choosing another time and place in the past and explaining what the advantages and disadvantages of that time...

Organization can take a paragraph from mundane to first-rate. Try out a graphic organizer for an accordion-style paragraph, which includes a topic sentence, three reasons with details and transitions, three explanations, and a concluding...

Does a ban on vending machines infringe on student rights, or do school officials have an obligation to monitor foods sold on school grounds? Your class members will explore the educational, health, and financial issues related to...

Young readers work on evaluating claims in a piece of informational text with the article "In New York, It's Open Bag or Find Exits" from the New York Times. They analyze current search procedures implemented to fight terrorism...

What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs....

Write a review of the film adaptation of Holes. After viewing the film, your young reviewers make recommendations about viewing the film. Using details to support their opinions, they highlight the important parts of the movie without...