Great Schools
Letter of Complaint
If you've ever received bad service or disagreed with a company's decision, writing a letter of complaint might be a good skill to have. Review the format of a letter, author's purpose, and other aspects of persuasive writing with an...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 2 - A History of the United States: Modern Times—Late 1800s to the 2000s
The second volume of the Core Knowledge History of the United States ebook begins by asking young scholars to consider the impact immigration, industrialization, and urbanization had on the United States in the late 1800s. The text ends...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Songwriting Skill - Finding Your Voice: The Academy Is - “About A Girl”
The seventh in a series of nine exercises focusing on songwriting models for young lyricists on how to find and develop their unique voice. Class members suggest songs that they feel sound authentic and contrast the wording with songs...
Prestwick House
Rhetorical Devices in Political Speeches
Have you ever watched a political speech and felt your heart beat a little faster, and your opinion either solidify or begin to slightly change? Rhetorical devices can be a strong tool in an effective and powerful speech. A short lesson...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Syntax (English II Reading)
Lesson five in the series focuses on syntax and the elements that make sentences enjoyable. Learners practice building different clauses and phrases and using figures of speech and rhetorical and literary devices.
K12 Reader
Drop the Mop!
Combine a study of -op words with a bit of reading comprehension. Learners read a quick a silly poem containing many -op words and then answer three questions.
Smithsonian Institution
We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...
Friends of Fort McHenry
British Attacks in the Chesapeake during the War of 1812
This is a fun mapping activity that will have your class knowing the ins and outs of the battles in the War of 1812. Your young cartographers will not only plot decisive attacks, but will analyze their purpose, goals, and impact on...
Earth Day Network
Healthy Earth, Sick Earth
Earth is sick and needs our help! Read the children's book Planet Earth Gets Well to explain the various problems facing the planet, discussing what young conservationists can do to heal the planet along the way. A great Earth Day...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 7
A story about feral girls raised by werewolves will have some interesting character development! Track how the girls and their teachers act, speak, and change with a lesson focused on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Sixth Grade Poetry
Study some of the most prominent poets and works of poetry in history with a language arts poetry unit. From Virgil to Shakespeare to Dickinson to Angelou, the resources present biographies and examples of poetic elements to the sixth...
K5 Learning
Authors Tell Different Stories
The story of Cinderella is a popular one! So much so, there are multiple versions of the story being told around the world. With this collection of activities your young readers receive background information about two versions...
K20 LEARN
Hooking Your Reader
Hook your class into inquiry-based, hands-on learning with a activity on narrative leads. Pupils research different types of hooks and decide which one to use in their own writing. Carefully scaffolded to include all learners, the...
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 3
Who were the Anti-Federalists and what do primary sources tell young historians about their beliefs? Learners read Paper No. 3 to understand their values in relation to government, such as their discussion on foreign policy and the pros...
Poetry4kids
How to Write an “I Can’t Write a Poem” Poem
Ever have students complain that they don't know how to write a poem? Turn those complaints into magnificent works of writing with an independent poetry lesson about not being able to write poetry.
Reading Vine
Confucius: The Most Famous Teacher in China
Introduce young philosophers to the wisdom of China's most famous thinkers with a short bio. The reading comprehension passage includes an answer key.
Curated OER
Mood
Young scholars learn how to distinguish between the mood of a piece of writing (how the work makes the reader feel) and the tone (the writer's attitude toward the material) in the sixth instructional activity in a poetry unit. After...
Hold McDougal
Songwriting Skill - Finding Your Style: Elisa Victoria - “No Surprise”
Hip Hop? Country? Punk? R and B? So many styles. Young song writers consider the emotional effects of various style options before selecting the style best suited to the emotions they want to express in their song. The sixth in a...
Student Handouts
The Five W's and How
Here is a great graphic organizer for ensuring that young researchers and writers cover all their bases when brainstorming a topic by considering the five W's (who, what, where, when, and why) and how.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3
How do writers develop a central idea in a text? How can readers identify this central idea? These are the challenges class members tackle as they continue their analysis of "Letter One" from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1
Where does a writer find inspiration? "Go into yourself," says Rainer Maria Rilke in "Letter One" from Letters to a Young Poet. Readers of Rilke's letter to Franz Xaver Kappus examine the words and figurative language Rilke uses to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 4
Class members continue examining how writers develop and support their ideas by comparing two texts about globalization. Alongside chapters from Sugar Changed the World, young scholars read an article by the World Bank entitled...
K12 Reader
Adjectives Describe
Vivid writers all start out the same way: learning in elementary school how to use a variety of adjectives! Young grammarians add adjectives to eight fill-in-the-blank sentences.