Sometimes beginning a conversation isn't the hard part—it's ending the conversation that can be challenging. Autistic and mainstream learners alike can benefit from a resource that provides a reference handout with ways to end a...

Familiar puppets set the stage for a thoughtful discussion about friendship. To show what they know, scholars role-play scenarios. Peers offer a thumbs up when they view positive character traits exhibit good friend behavior.  

How do the narrative and play versions of the myth "Pyramus and Thisbe" affect meaning? Scholars reread Act 5, Scene 1 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and compare its structure to "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use a...

Pupils explore the narrative structure of a piece of literary text, mapping out the plot structure of the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use their completed graphic organizers to write story summaries.

In this writing a podcast lesson plan, 7th graders create a podcast involving Ancient Greece. Students follow a rubric and outline to create their podcast. Students present their podcast to their fellow students.

Students write persuasive speeches to recruit soldiers for a Civil War company. In this Civil War U.S. history and writing lesson, students work in groups to create a recruiting poster and write a speech to persuade soldiers to join...

What are the six traits of writing? This cute presentation will show you and your pupils exactly that! For each trait of writing, the creators of this PowerPoint included a quote and bullet points describing the trait. Play this and have...

Need a key to unlock writer's block? Introduce your writers to four easy steps that will release them from their mental prison. The brainstorming worksheet, designed to set free their imaginations, even has an answer key.

The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.

As part of their reading of The Hobbit, readers create a biopoem for one of Tolkien's characters.

Celebrate the legendary Dr. Seuss on Read Across America Day with a plethora of activities set to five stories—The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who, Oh, the Places You'll Go!, and Green Eggs and Ham. Activities...

Why did Vietnam POWs and their families receive more media attention than POWs in previous wars?  To answer this question, class members view artifacts, read articles, and engage in class discussion. Individuals then assume the...

Get your class thinking about climate change as a scientific theory. Guided by a handout, emerging earth scientists read articles and take notes about glaciers and sea ice. To conclude, they write an evaluation of the evidence for...

Pay special attention to onsets and rimes and initial consonants with this packet of activities designed to provide additional support to youngsters just learning to read and write.

Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...

Students investigate the Middle Ages and it's relation to the theater.  In this acting lesson, students read Arthurian stories form the Middle Ages and practice using vocabulary words from the Medieval Times.  Students write a...

Shadow puppetry has an ancient past, it is also a great way to build oral expression and reading fluency. Young thespians research folk tales, compare and contrast reality and fantasy, then create and perform a shadow puppet play based...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Happy Pi Day! This collection of games, experiments, and activities leads participants through an exploration of the many aspects and attributes of that mysterious quantity, pi. Activities range from using statistical...

Pause in your reading of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to take an in-depth look at the characters. Learners examine a chosen character by drawing a body and assigning quotes and traits to specific areas of the body, thinking...

A lot of writers really struggle very much with adding a lot of qualifiers and intensifiers in their writing. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, a handout on the topic provides tips to help reduce a reliance on these...

Here is a unit consisting of activities designed to challenge your scholars. The extended learning opportunities include planning a celebration, making a presentation to the class, poster making, writing poetry, a problem-solving...

Double, double scholars' appreciation of the Scottish Play with a guide that adds a rich brew of pre-reading background information, chapter discussion questions, activities, and writing prompts to provide readers with a "firm and good"...

Shakespeare's Macbeth has something for everyone. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment. They craft multi-paragraph essays to analyze how the author's structural choices create tension and suspense in the play's first two acts.