Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...

To honor El Dia de los Muertos, scholars work together to create Day of the Dead displays—paper sugar skulls and banners—that bring a festive and memorable flare to the classroom.  

Work on narrative writing with this lesson, in which middle schoolers analyze the characters from a selected piece of literature and write narrative diary pieces as the character. They work to understand the point of view of the...

Challenge your class to connect to the text of "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros with this activity, which prompts them to write a personal letter from the main character's point of view. The story, prompt, and letter template are all included...

Learners compare and contrast characters from various texts and compile the collected data into several graphic organizers.

What kind of animals live on an ice planet like Hoth? How would the habitat on Tatooine allow different organisms to thrive? Connect social studies, science, and Star Wars in one engaging activity that focuses on the ecosystems...

Middle schoolers read a novel and discuss character personality. First, they analyze a character in a novel and keep a chart or web of the character's identity, which includes specific examples from the book. They then write a script...

Introduce your class to the writing of the indigenous Americans and, even more well known, their story telling. An engaging presentation describes what kinds of texts would be included in the oral stories performed and some common...

Many people dream of getting a fresh start or starting over again. David, a main character in I am David, gets that chance and must learn to live life outside of the concentration camp. Scholars read about David's adventures as they...

Learners examine descriptive writing. In this writing instructional activity, students listen to an audio version of the diary of Lt. Polly Hatchard and her expedition to the South Pole. Learners explore the components of...

Middle schoolers explore the book A Midsummer Night's Dream. In this literature lesson, students identify main characters and vocabulary words from the text. Middle schoolers participate in a book discussion group.

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...

Reinforce sentence styles with this lesson, which prompts young grammarians to build complex and compound-complex sentence structures. They respond to non-print text and identify subordinators as parts of speech procedure. They spell...

Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...

A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...

What are the necessary components of a five paragraph essay? How does one interest their reader? These questions are answered with this 12-slide PowerPoint which details components of the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion....

Learners compare and contrast statements made by people in "Man on the Streets." They are interviewing them on the current war in Iraq and how they felt on Sept. 11th. These interviews are tape recorded. To see what kinds of questions to...

Young poets focus on one character from a story they are reading, collect details, and use a biopoem template to analyze this character. The activity can be used with any text.

Pupils examine and discuss author's purpose and the influence of an author's perspective in his or her writing. In groups, they read scenarios and respond to them from the perspective of a designated character. Materials are attached.

During a biology activity, scholars research microbes, design a lesson plan using an outline, and present the activity to the class. 

Students study and explore the portrayal and development of a major character in a novel from the novel, "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens. They identify words and phrases that effectively describe the main character in this novel....