High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...

Research and write a 500-word essay. Pupils research a topic and write an essay based on their research. They use the given directions and examples to help them research, organize, format, and write their essay. There's a short chart...

One activity, two essays, and one central theme: qualities of an argument essay. Here, scholars first describe the qualities of an argument essay regarding Bud's rules to live by from the novel Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis....

Personal narratives are powerful things. Whether told from the first-person or third-person point of view, whether in the form of an essay, a short story, novel, or video, whether fiction or fact, they capture readers and give them...

Complete personal pronoun practice activities. Pupils use correct personal pronoun form in sentences the teacher writes on the board. They review the function of a pronoun and the various cases and practice placing personal pronouns by...

The final lesson plan in this narrative writing unit asks class members to craft a multi-paragraph essay reflecting on the structural elements Leslie Marmon Silko employs in her "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit."

A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...

How does Hamlet's state of mind change over the course of Shakespeare's most famous revenge tragedy? After a close reading of Hamlet's soliloquies in Act III, scene 1 and Act IV, scene iv, class members engage in a Paideia/Socratic...

Entrance essays are the ultimate sales pitch! Show your seniors how to market themselves in the first of six college and career readiness lesson plans. Pupils discover the do's and don'ts of writing personal statements through research,...

Ah, the dreaded college application essay. Here's a unique approach to crafting a powerful personal essay. Class members read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Leslie Marmon Silko's Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit, analyze the...

Develop an understanding of the open-ended questions that are a part of the college Common Application. Future college learners collaborate, discuss prompts acquired from the application, and philosophize on their plan of attack for the...

Crafting a personal statement for college admissions, job applications, or other post-high school programs does not have to be a nightmare. The "Telling My Story" packet describes the key components of successful essays and includes...

Today's discussion of The Autobiography of Malcolm X focuses on the precise words, the telling phrases, and the sensory details Haley uses to enliven his story. Writers then work to incorporate these same techniques in the draft of their...

Chapter 12 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X discusses Haley's narrative techniques, mainly how he uses point of view and foreshadowing to build interest and suspense. Class members read and annotate chapter 13 of the text as homework...

Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...

What would it be like to sell your eggs to a couple who can't have children on their own? Could you even imagine it? As most of us have never been in this position, this descriptive essay is really quite interesting. The reading itself...

To practice pre-writing techniques your class will re-read the book George vs. George and complete a T-chart along with brainstorming ideas on how to organize their essay.

Students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions and model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article. They compose persuasive essays on controversial issues that "hit home" for them.

Use the constructive ideas in this resource to assist in developing your own career writing project for your junior high or young high school scholars. The resource provides step-by-step plans for the educator and learners, as well...

Learners formulate a definition of art in the introductory instructional activity for a unit on various art forms. The learning emphasis is placed on Oregonian artist Duff Severe and reflective writing. Students compose an essay...

Class members take a break from discussing The Autobiography of Malcolm X to focus on their personal narrative essays. Before working on their drafts, they review what they have learned from their study of Haley's narrative about...

After discussing Haley's techniques in his conclusion of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, class time is devoted to drafting, sharing, and getting feedback on writers' college essays.

Personal narrative writing is usually a favorite form of writing for youngsters because they get to write about a personal experience. The lesson here asks pupils to take a piece of narrative writing and improve it by following...

Archaeologists have discovered a cache of Native American relics. They want to preserve these relics by removing them from the rapidly eroding site to a lab where they can be studied. Native American traditions demand that the items...