A unit on persuasive writing guides elementary learners through the writing process. The first part examines the elements of persuasive writing, including expressing an opinion, connecting ideas, using supporting facts, and writing...

With the increasing emphasis on persuasive and argumentative writing, the lessons and strategies in the sample unit are sure to prove valuable—whether you are new to or an experienced pro at teaching persuasive reading and writing.

Students improve their reading and writing skills using Step Up to Writing and Six Traits of Writing techniques. Students complete a Robinson Crusoe vocabulary crossword, a Treasure Island character analysis web, reading comprehension...

Students improve their creative writing skills. In this writing skills lesson, students learn about picture captions, story writing, critiques, poems, reports, letter writing, creative writing, and a rap poem.

Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...

The final installment of a 22-part American history series examines the many faces that make up the country's story. From Henry Ford to Tulio Serrano, scholars use biographical evidence and Internet research to uncover the people behind...

We take a steady shower stream and clean drinking water for granted, but in many countries around the world, the lack of water or a clean water supply is responsible for higher sickness and death rates. Taking a closer look at the water...

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...

Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...

Students study the Reconstruction Era after the US Civil War. In this Reconstruction lesson set, students examine the problems that were encountered by the South after the Civil War, look at different plans for Reconstruction, and...

This lesson will focus on summary and critique separately so that you can distinguish between the two. You will learn how to summarize a text and how to distinguish between essential and nonessential information when summarizing. You...

In this lesson, students will learn how to write an effective summary using reading strategies to help ensure that the summary contains enough information without including unnecessary details or personal opinions. You will also learn...

Smmarize a text and distinguish between a summary and a critique, identifying nonessential information in a summary, and unsubstantiated opinions in a critique.

Learn how to summarize a text in contrast to writing a critique that takes a position.

This lesson plan serves as an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing and focuses primarily on teaching some basic approaches to recognizing rhetorical strategies adopted for persuasive effect in essays and non-fiction. The...

Critique a peer's thinking about two division word problems, one with whole and mixed numbers and one with two fractions, in this interactive from KET. Students watch a video of a student thinking through two word problems that involve...