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...

Teach your class to talk back in a constructive and respectful way. This focuses in particular on talking back to the media and to advertisers when they have concerns. Learners participate in a brainstorm and then compose letters or...

Learners explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson plan, students collaborate to identify community issues and create a plan of action to address them.

In this action verbs worksheet, students look at a list of 4 words and circle the action verb and cross out the other words. Students complete 14 problems.

Record the plot elements of The Cay on this worksheet. Pupils note basic information about the book and answer questions about the introduction, point of view, character, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of...

The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...

Expose your class to Waiting for the Biblioburro, narrative nonfiction that will act as the bridge between ficiton and informational texts to come. Class members do a close reading of the text, looking at excerpts instead of the whole...

Students explore characterization. In this characterization lesson, students give analytical responses to questions and determine a character's beliefs. Students use the school mission statement to develop two beliefs that the statement...

Discuss as a class some problems that you would like to see changed in your school or community, and then take action! After your young citizens determine the appropriate steps they should take to accomplish their objectives, they will...

Academic goals can lead high schoolers toward bright futures. Get your class to think about where they want to be in 20 years and what they'll need to do to get there with this lesson plan. Learners fill out a brief questionnaire about...

For this action nouns worksheet, learners read ten clues pertaining to action nouns such as cleaning, brushing, teaching. Students fit their answers in a crossword puzzle.

"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a lesson that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source documents,...

Learners take on the roles of jurors in a civil case to evaluate evidence and determine a verdict in this engaging online interactive experience.

Through grand conversation, help scholars identify issues that harm the Earth and find solutions on how to solve them. After voting—on what your class deems the most important problem—stretch writing muscles with a problem-solution...

Direct your class’s attention to the elements that make their community unique. After examining sample travel brochures, groups select something from their community to use as the subject, and then research, create, and publish a...

Take young learners on an undersea adventure with this fun collection of primary grade activities. Intended to accompany the Kids Under the Sea CD, this resource includes lyrics as well as counting and tracing activities...

Prepare readers of Arthur Miller's The Crucible for a timed, in-class essay assessment with seven graphic organizers that ask individuals to note conflicts, both internal and external, characters' actions, possible...

Allow the residents of this grammar-packed city to teach your pupils the parts of speech with songs, videos, quizzes, and more. Kids can get to know each part of speech and sing along with the catchy tunes!

The -ly adverbs are the focus of a worksheet that asks kids to select adverbs from the provided word bank to add additional information about how the action of the sentence takes place.

After completing Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose, class members assume the voice of Gemma and craft a personal letter to her granddaughter telling Becca how she feels about Becca’s actions and the discoveries at Chelmno. Complete directions for...

Tenth graders complete a variety of activities related to the first two chapters of the book The Outsiders. They define metaphor, simile, idiom, and hyperbole, and take a vocabulary pre-quiz. In small groups, they write a character...

Combine participial phrases and creative writing with this lesson, which is equally helpful for writing skills and conventions. After a mini-lesson on participial phrases and reading the picture book Dancing in the Wings, pupils use a...

Students explain the components of fire, explain how forest fires impact man and the environment, analyze data in order to recognize areas that are at risk for forest fires, make recommendations based on research.

How does reading a drama differ from reading a novel? Middle schoolers become playwrights and explore these differences. After viewing the A&E movie,"The Crossing," groups create stage directions, write dialogue, and design sets and...