How should America respond to acts of domestic terrorism? What motivates or prompts a terrorist attack? After reading an opinion piece on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, your learners will critically analyze factors that could have...

Next time you assign your young historians to write a persuasive essay, use this document as a starting point and support them with a rubric, tips for writing a successful persuasive piece, and a general essay outline.

Have your older middle schoolers assist young children with writing in this community service and literacy instructional activity. Middle schoolers become partners with a local elementary school. They assist the grade school children in...

After discussing their opinions of performing community service, young learners read an article about different benefits of serving the community. They participate in a debate about whether their school should require pupils to perform...

Make narrative writing festive with a St. Patrick's Day-themed writing prompt! Sscholars provide a detailed account of Sean the Leprechaun and an amazing event that happened to him on a joyful spring morning.   

Young writers can contemplate a cartoon zombie's brain while they write a creative story. The theme is Halloween and the issue is that the writer invited real monsters to his or her party. Big mistake! Or was it?

Get your ghouls and gals writing on Halloween! Learners write about what their jack o' lantern said when it suddenly came to life. A cute pumpkin graphic and a fun font spices up the resource.

Open-ended and intriguing, a writing prompt about two people from history is sure to get your young scholars thinking. Have them choose two historical figures, and after brainstorming their similarities and differences, successes and...

This St. Patrick's Day, young writers imagine they found a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. After a class discussion and brainstorming, scholars compose a narrative essay making sure they incorporate transitions and at least three...

Help your pupils sharpen their letter writing skills. They compose business letters that include greetings, headings, closings, and a professional tone for a philanthropic organization requesting information. Use this resource to...

Planning a newspaper or journalism unit? Use these graphic organizer to help your young reporters organizer their articles. The first page instructs users to plan out the structure of their article, while the second page prompts them to...

What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this instructional activity, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about...

Ask your learners to reflect and write with this worksheet. This activity asks pupils to write about positive experiences - times when they have displayed positive qualities such as courage, kindness, wisdom, and determination. This...

Can beautiful words change the world? Literary scholars discover how to paint their visions of change using poetry in a series of three workshops. Each independent topic gives participants a chance to examine their feelings about...

Make the thought process visible with a handy concept map organizer. As learners develop their main ideas in research, writing, or creative development, they can add details and like ideas to the worksheet as needed.

What does it take to develop and publish a newsletter? Young academics create a newsletter with original artwork for their school or community. They explore social justice themes and spread messages of tolerance and inclusion. Scholars...

Students explore political persuasive writing. In this government and persuasive writing lesson, students work in groups to write text and create graphics for a  brochure describing and promoting a predetermined political candidate.

Students write a business letter with information regarding specific writing mechanics. In this writing lesson, students learn to write a business letter and they focus on one area of concern. Students follow a business letter...

Young scholars investigate the Atlantic slave trade. In this slavery instructional activity, students watch "Slavery, Society, and Apartheid," as well as "Slave Ship." Young scholars discuss the information presented in the videos,...

“Humanscape No.65” by Melesia Casas and Ester Hernandez’s “Sun Maid Raisins” launch a study of how works of art can advocate for social change. After examining these two works and discussing the human rights issues raised, class members...

The final activity in a unit study of immigration and human rights asks class members to design a project for their school that builds support for immigrant classmates. To prepare for this project, individuals use what they have learned...

Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing lesson. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal pictures from...

Create or expand your college essay and career unit with a business and postsecondary writing activity. The exercise works for college-bound or job-hunting junior or senior learners. They bring their research concerning a college or...

Does the lens of history portray George Washington as a good leader? A three-lesson unit looks at Washington's early military career as the commander of the Virginia Regiment, his role in the fight for independence...