Students learn characteristics of an effective personal narrative.  In this personal narrative lesson, students discover ways to show rather than tell, adding richness and detail to their writing.  Students evaluate a news...

Young scholars write a story centered around their favorite TV show. In this story writing lesson, students share their favorite TV shows and discuss their favorite characters. Young scholars draw pictures that illustrate a story in...

In this Guinea Pig themed lesson plan, students hear the story, Guinea Pigs Add UP! and then engage in several themed learning activities. Each activity fosters skills in letter/number recognition, art, math or writing.  

Students read and complete activities for the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night. For this play analysis lesson, students discuss the themes, characters, and literary devices used in Act 2, Scene 5 of the Twelfth Night. Students complete a...

Your learners will be tantalized by this inquiry-based, collaborative activity as they discover how to write an equation that represents the height of an ice cream cone. Given the scenario based on the poem, "Eighteen Flavors," and...

Imagine using narrative essays to encourage change. This multi-week unit plan does just that. After reading a series of articles from Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, class members examine the...

The difference between an average and an unforgettable writing can lie in the author's word choice. The figurative language in Chapter 2 of Christopher Paul Curtis's Newbery Medal Winner, Bud, Not Buddy, is the focus of a series of...

Learners explore animal characteristics by participating in a paragraph writing activity. In this writing structure lesson, students identify the importance of a topic and transition when writing descriptive sentences about a subject....

Young journalists try their hand at writing a news report. They go through the process of developing ideas, and collecting and organizing their information. The headline everyone works with is, "Mystery Disappearance of English Teacher:...

Mail me a postcard. Individuals design a postcard to show what Meg Lowman from The Most Beautiful Roof in the World might have written to her friends at home. They then continue to work on writing a science journal entry.

Develop a better understanding of "Blackbeard's Ghost" with this differentiated lesson. Working in groups on a creative project, middle schoolers can reinforce their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. Use this...

Third graders examine how a family modifies their environment to create a home out of mud. They read the book "This House is Made of Mud" by Ken Buchanan, and write a description of their own home that compares the home of mud to their...

Want to use sequence maps in your narrative writing unit? Young writers work to create personal narratives about their summer vacation. They write a narrative of their vacation and create a display using summer clothing shapes made from...

Students view number stories at a website and write their own. They insert a drawing and the text of their number story using a software such as PowerPoint to create a presentation for the class and parents.

Drama is ever-present in our daily lives and eloquently depicted on stage. Middle schoolers practice writing scenes based on different prompts and frameworks, and then perform those creative scenes for their classmates. The...

Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II lesson, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...

As a way to combine language arts and science, try this lesson on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the provided "Cloud...

Here is an amazing lesson on story writing for young writers. After listening to a history of chocolate, learners utilize the many worksheets embedded in the plan to construct their own stories about chocolate. They must cut out the...

Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...

Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science activity. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...

Cinderella is a classic love story when Cinderella is the protagonist—but what happens if a stepsister tells the story? Focus on point of view with a lesson about fairy tales and story elements. After reading a few familiar fairy tales,...

Bring this lesson on hubris to your short story unit. After reading Jack London's "To Build a Fire," young readers discuss the role of hubris in the protagonist's death. The lesson has connections to other short stories, such as "The...

High schoolers are have begun to learn  the art of diplomacy with each other, but do they understand how diplomacy works at a global level?  The second in a series of four lessons, guides scholars in evaluating primary sources....

Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one lesson intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read a nonfiction...