Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...

How does HIV operate at the molecular level? Pupils discover the progression from a healthy immune cell to one infected with HIV, watch an animation of the HIV life cycle, and finally identify each of the stages with illustrations...

Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...

Students write their thoughts about political cartoons, photographs, and articles in their journal and then discuss them in class.

Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...

Cut magazine pictures into three sections, having your youngsters piece the pictures back together. With this fun activity, they discover the importance of sequencing a story. Then they use a fun template (shaped like a burger) to write...

Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...

After processing notes from research or an interview, middle schoolers turn the information into a script or dialogue for narrative, persuasive, or expository text. Use this lesson in any writing unit to reinforce proper writing skills.

Students plan and write paragraphs while integrating other core subject areas. In this paragraph writing lesson, students complete 5 lessons to practice writing paragraphs. Students incorporate various core subjects into their paragraph...

Reinforce the importance of the writing process with this publication lesson. Elementary and middle schoolers compose a parts of speech book which includes one page each for nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions,...

Read, discuss, and write short stories with your primary class. They read a short story and complete worksheets for the story. They also brainstorm ideas for a class story and choose an idea to write 3 ideas and then write the story as a...

Researching facts about owls can be a hoot for your class. Let them wisely collaborate on this writing project. The resource is the second part of three parts. It is best to use all three lessons in order. 

Young scholars examine sequencing events by discussing what they do each morning. They complete a four-panel sequence of events assignment, drawing a picture and writing a sentence for each box in the panel.

Learners write a funny story and illustrate it in a comic strip. In this comic strip instructional activity, students study comic strips and determine the plot of each story. Learners then write a short story and illustrate it using a...

Students combine sentences to create compound sentences. They write about creating their own soda, then make their own soda, comparing and contrasting it with a national brand. They write a paragraph containing compound sentences.

Readers identify main ideas and supporting details using informational texts. In this literacy lesson, they make predictions and read the text to find the main ideas. They use a table diagram to define the main idea and supporting...

Students read Abe Lincoln's Hat and use a plot diagram to identify the sequence of the story. They use plot diagrams to write their own stories from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln's hat.

Students use their Life Map to write a strong introduction for an autobiography. They apply the Life Map to a written sequence, use guided imagery to visualize the writing process and experience peer editing.

Students read a book about Abraham Lincoln. Using a log, they write factual information from the book. As a class, they discuss what they believe childhood was like in the middle to late 1800s. They fill out a KWL chart before beginning...

A creative spin occurs when one pupil acts as author Ann M. Martin. Using a Q & A at the back of her book A Dog's Life, other classmates ask the "author" questions. They discuss the reasons why they know the book is from a...

Students explore fire safety. In this fire prevention and safety lesson, students discuss and brainstorm ideas about what to do if there is a fire. Students practice stating information that should be given when calling 911. Students...

Third graders are introduced to the concept of sequence of events. They work in groups to properly sequence The Three Little Pigs, then work individually to write their own stories about their individuality.

Ninth graders create an instructional manual about using a mechanical device. In this technical writing lesson, 9th graders create a PowerPoint presentation that includes the step by step process of how to use the mechanical device.

Students investigate storytelling by creating their own dialogue. In this writing development lesson, students read the story Jeremy Thatch, Dragon Hatcher in class and discuss their own magical object they wish to write a story about....