Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Examine how to answer who, what, when, where, and why when reading text. Young writers listen to the story Skeleton Hiccups, and as a class answer and discuss the five W's. Independently they read the story silently, and write the...

If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...

Scholars examine the strategy of making a story map or outline to identify the main elements of a story. They discuss the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a story, in an outline form. As a class they read a short story, answer the...

Clearly written as an assignment for a higher-level education class, this formal lesson plan contains some fun and well-researched strategies for teaching the novel Tuck Everlasting  by Natalie Babbitt. Among the best ideas...

Here’s a series of exercises designed to be used after readers have finished reading The Hobbit. Pairs identify the speaker of a series of quotes, match characters with qualities, and provide evidence from the story to support their...

Young scholars observe and demonstrate a variety of summarization strategies. They discuss the process of asking the five W questions, and apply then to a passage from the book "Sarah Plain and Tall." Students then finish the chapter...

Focusing on Doppo's "Unforgettable People" and late nineteenth century Japanese literature, this resource also leads to discussions of form being dictated by content. Explore the development of new literary styles first-hand by...

Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...

Here is a simple assignment that will introduce your young geographers to location, one of the five themes of geography, through an activity in which they map the directions and lines of latitude/longitude of where they live. 

Help your researchers as they begin to develop a topic for research with these worksheets. Included are two nicely designed graphic organizers that assist students in narrowing and researching their topic, and an efficient...

What is the missing link? Provide your class with this incomplete essay (it's missing transition words), and have writers place words from the transition word bank into the essay. Also, since only three of the five paragraphs are...

What do you want to do when you finish school? Most high schoolers have an idea of what they'd want to do, but little idea of how to achieve this goal. After researching a career of their choosing, learners identify qualifications,...

Eighth graders discover what makes an event newsworthy. They research topics by using the five W questions. They examine the difference between facts and opinions and practice interviewing people for stories.

Students investigate the concept of writing a five paragraph essay. They go through the steps to develop an essay from prewriting to a final draft using a writing prompt of Olauda Equiano. The handout for the assignment has questions for...

Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...

How do discerning readers determine bias and credibility? Ask small groups to figure it out! First, each group is provided with either articles or videos that contain bias. They examine the resources, respond to included questions, and...

Most have heard of Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks, but few recall Elizabeth Jennings, Samuel W. Tucker, or Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher. Young historians research and then develop a presentation about the contributions of...

Seventh graders examine the five-paragraph essay format, including the main idea and supporting sentences. After outlining their essay ideas, they write their rough drafts and proofread them in preparation for writing their final papers.

Students observe and demonstrate the process of summarizing text. As a class they read a paragraph and answer the five W's. Students then read an online paragraph, and complete a chart online, then in small groups write a short summary.

Is it easy to find a job I'll love? Show scholars the importance of understanding the labor market with part three in a five-part series of career and college readiness lesson plans. After learning important vocabulary, learners track...

Write in all three authorial purposes (persuasive, informational, entertaining) with this lesson. Young writers consider a time when a friend of theirs helped them out and gave them advice on something. They write a short paragraph (no...

Students complete lessons and worksheet to identify the different types and uses of payroll taxes. They examine how federal income taxes are used, determine the difference between gross and net pay, and determine how employers withhold...

Students compare George Washington's foreign policy to the policies of presidents who followed him. In this primary source analysis instructional activity, students compare Washington's Farewell Address to the Roosevelt Corollary, the...