Write and work with authors on the Scholastic Website to promote the recognition of various genres.  Young writers will participate in activities based on the type of writing such as biography, descriptive, folktales, mystery, news,...

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...

Who wouldn't love to get a letter from a blue bird? Elementary art enthusiasts analyze the social and historical context of Ason Yellowhair's Navajo piece, Bird and Cornstalk Rug. They examine the construction and images on the rug...

C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength provides the model for using dreams in narrative writing. After a discussion of the purpose of dreams in Lewis’s tale, class members craft a story in which their dreams play an essential role.

Students, after reading Chapter One in the book, "What the Land Means to Americans," research from a variety of resources Tlingit totem poles. After their extensive research, they create a totem pole to present to their peers to...

A unique writing lesson, this plan begins with learners talking about multiculturalism in small groups. Each learner will choose a picture from a newspaper, describe it to their small group, and think about how it relates to...

Students create a Middle Ages writing journal with narrative, expository and persuasive prompts.  In this creative writing instructional activity, students are given a list of Middle Ages topics and begin working in their journals....

Students write an expository paragraph about the uses of the Nashua River for the Native Americans and the European Colonists. In this river uses lesson plan, students determine the causes and effects of both parties using the river.

Middle schoolers analyze and critique theater events by evaluating and constructing meanings from improvised and scripted scenes and from theater, film, television, and electronic media productions.

What a creative and engaging project to incorporate into your studies of the 1920s! Your young historians will work in groups to design a magazine discussing the political and cultural topics of the decade, each member writing one...

Students practice basic reading skills. In this reading lesson plan, students review the letter M, read the story If You Give a Mouse a Muffin. Students will then write a book using their name, for example: If You Give a Taco to Tracy.

Fifth graders write a paragraph titled "All About Me" in the computer lab after they have drawn graphic organizers to fill in background information about themselves and used a "10-Point Writing Checklist" to do peer editing.

Third graders write to themselves or to known audiences, share news, explore new ideas, and record notes. They identify that holidays are days that people set aside to recognize a person or event that has made a great impression....

Fourth graders identify the counties of Arizona. In this social studies instructional activity, 4th graders color a county map of Arizona using the fewest number of colors possible. Students write a persuasive paragraph.

High schoolers research a subject about biotechnology and do a project or a writing assignment on it. They can pick from a possible eighteen different projects and five different writing projects.

Here's a fun way to incorporate technology into your curriculum. E-mail each of your class members a picture and 10 questions about the photo. Individuals then imagine the story behind the image and e-mail back their responses. Although...

Students create holiday story while working in cooperative learning groups, using Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express as a writing prompt.

Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...

Did you know that honey bees dance to communicate information? Do you know why bees use hexagons to build their hives? The Honeybee Man, Brilliant Bees, and Show me the Honey provide background information on how honey bees communicate....

Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...

Fifth graders choose a country associated with a family member and research its location, government, language, economy, history, holidays, foods, sports, and famous people. They write to inform using this data and draw a map identifying...

After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...

Our uniqueness should be celebrated, not teased. The story Chrysanthemum addresses having a distinct name and dealing with different perceptions. Pre- and post-reading questions are listed to help your learners understand...

Develop fluency with a variety of works. Help kindergartners use multiple strategies to understand text and decoding. They will create an alphabet poem book on Kid Works 2 to illustrate and write their own poem. In the end, they will...