Can animals think? Learners develop their thinking abilities by reading Linden's essay and constructing an evidence-based response. Complete with rubrics and exemplars to evaluate writing, the resource also has suggested pre-, during,...

The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.

Master a well-organized thesis statement with a short activity for a persuasive writing unit. Young writers read five different introductory paragraphs about various topics, find the main ideas addressed in each thesis statement, and jot...

After compiling the necessary research and organizing information in an outline, your young writers will learn how to add context and quality to details in order to construct a well developed paragraph. This is the sixth video in a...

This resource provides an excellent explanation of how to begin developing support for main ideas in a writing piece. Young writers will work through a step-by-step process of developing supporting details that serve to prove the topic...

Following up their writing of a school constitution, fourth graders prepare to write a paragraph explaining the document to their peers. After looking at two writing samples, the teacher assists learners in developing their own criteria...

A thorough lesson on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive techniques...

Prepare for a wild ride on the plot roller coaster! Budding authors outline their novel plots through this set of visual and entertaining worksheets. They follow the story of Boris the Unicorn, which demonstrates the various stages of a...

Practice writing paragraphs with this scaffolded instructional activity. The "hamburger" model is used on the second page, following some examples and guided practice on the first page. Give beginning writers concrete, tangible support...

Why do loiterers blame delay on their active friends? Consider the very question by reading Aesop's 72-word fable "The Traveler and His Dog" and completing a letter-writing activity. As part of a series of audiobooks, the 41-second...

Is temporary pleasure worth a lifetime of pain? A group of flies learns their unfortunate—and sticky—lesson with Aesop's fable "The Flies and the Honeypot." After listening to an audio version of the tale, class members map the plot...

Teach your class about fear and cowardice from the perspective of a doe and her fawn. A teaching resource based on Aesop's "The Fawn and His Mother" includes an audio version of the fable, a text passage, and a reading activity in which...

Ideas don't naturally flow from one to another. They need transitions to help them connect. Part of a larger Writing the Paper series, the resource introduces writers to the concept of using transitions in their writing. Topics covered...

Poor organization often destroys an otherwise good paper. After writing a first draft, individuals consider the organization of ideas, a topic discussed in the 16th handout in the 24-part Writing the Paper series. The resource covers...

Here's a recipe for writing that kicks instruction up a notch, BAM! The online reading about the Glyfada Method helps teachers and pupils learn more about the method and how to implement it in their own writing. Perfect for the entire...

Use a performance task to assess third graders' ability to read informational text. After they plan a lemonade stand business, young entrepreneurs implement that plan through informational writing. The task assumes learners can...

Extra, extra, read all about it! Use a newspaper as the primary resource in a special education classroom to teach reading, writing, and math skills. The activities help class members build their reading skills as well as their knowledge...

Whether you are teaching mainstream, advanced, or intervention language arts classes, you will find something helpful in a thorough writing packet. It includes prompts, rubrics, responses, helpful hints, graphic organizers, and many...

During the eighth lesson in a historical fiction unit, pupils practice thoughtfully transitioning their ideas in sequential order. After the teacher models how to add these transitions by using the wheelwright draft created in a previous...

Put another set of eyes on your class's historical fiction narratives with one of the final lessons in the unit. Fourth graders use feedback given by their peers to begin annotating their drafts for revision, particularly their bold...

Transition words can be a very important addition to any writer's toolbox. Learn more about addition words and time words, and how they can enhance the organization of any writing passage, with an informative video about reading...

Cause and effect, problem and solution, compare and contrast, illustration and example -- your class has undoubtedly seen these essay structures before. But how are they related? Watch a reading video about the ways relationships between...

Skilled readers can find the main idea of an informative passage without finding it directly stated. A reading video prompts elementary learners to examine supporting details in several examples, and to infer what the main idea of the...