It's time to refine writing and word choice. Learners work on Part 1 of their end of unit assessment by creating an essay titled What Makes a Hurricane a Natural Disaster? They use glossaries and graphic organizers from previous...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarization. They discuss the three steps of summarization, then silently read a National Geographic Kids News article. As a class they complete a semantic map of the article, and write...

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. They read and discuss the steps to summarize text, then in small groups read and summarize an article about frogs from "National Geographic" online. Independently they...

In this language arts worksheet, students use this chart to record information about any 3 paragraphs. Students record the topic sentence, two details and the concluding sentence.

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Young scholars complete exercises to practice writing a paragraph. In this paragraph writing lesson plan, students work in pairs to complete activities that require them to read sample paragraphs, organize sentences in sequence, and...

Young scholars add details to their writing. In this language arts lesson, students use details to enhance their writing. Young scholars view a picture and write a paragraph about what they see. Students conference with another student...

For this cause and effect worksheet, students list the causes of the effect of a large group of lights, then write the effect, and 3-4 detailed sentences about what they observed. Students complete 2 pages.

How do you read when you know you're going to be summarizing a text? Summarize a nonfiction text with your upper elementary schoolers. Your pupils independently read a nonfiction article and write a summary paragraph using the six-step...

Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.

Upper elementary and middle schoolers recognize symbols that influence the choices that we make consciously or unconsciously in everyday life. They look at the symbols and choices that others make. They identify and apply knowledge of...

Examine character in depth. Over the course of these six lessons, learners explore their own character traits, determine the traits of characters in the books they read, practice comparing and contrasting, and collaborate in small...

Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...

Fifth graders review what nouns, pronouns and verbs are though grammar games. In this grammar lesson, 5th graders identify proper and common nouns, singular and plural nouns and verb agreement with nouns. Students make an original slide...

Students observe and demonstrate the strategy of summarizing the main idea. They discuss six rules of summarizing, and observe the teacher summarizing the first chapter of the novel "The Incredible Journey." Students then read chapter...

Students review paragraph development, use of adjectives and grammar requirements. They incorporate various details in a written paragraph describing a visual image used as a writing prompt.

Young scholars observe and demonstrate the steps to identifying the main ideas of a text. They listen to the teacher read a paragraph and model the steps of summarizing the main idea. Students then independently read a different...

Here is a great way to bring core content to your special education classroom. Included is a set of instructional ideas intended to help learners increase their verbal and written expression through storytelling. Tape recorders, story...

Students read newspaper articles. In this social studies instructional activity, students locate the latitude and longitude of the location where the news article takes place. Students write a summary of the news article.

Students construct and analyze paragraphs. In groups, students place given sentences in order to form a paragraph. They determine the main idea of the paragraph. Students perform activities to determine the concept of topic sentence,...

All paragraphs do not have to be the same! Let your class know with a poster that demonstrates five different paragraph styles, ranging from a six-sentence paragraph to a ten-sentence paragraph. Each style includes a brief sample outline...

Set up your writers for writing strong introductions with a formula for putting together supported thesis statements. This reference page breaks the process down and provides an example of how to compose a thesis statement, develop a...

One of the best ways to make history relevant and engaging is to analyze current events before they become history! Check out these project guidelines for a current event research paper, outlining the major required sections of...

Students sort out important information and create a visual framework for reviewing in the future. They organize a large quantity of information thus helping with learning and remembering details, cause and effect, comparison and...