Imagine four pages of writing prompts. Although designed specifically for eighth graders, the topics could be used for upper-elementary and high school writers as well.

Explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. Writers develop pages for a basic writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common writing errors. A great way to...

Known as the day that will live in infamy, the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 was a shock to all. But why was the United States unprepared on that December morning? Study a series of primary sources in a document-based question that...

A Middle school special ed class uses the acronym SPAM to learn the 4 parts of writing. They employ 4 different colors to help them visually distinguish each part of writing in a given prompt. This lesson is vague and uses a strong...

Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...

Have you ever lost someone? Middle and high school learners journal about a time they experienced the loss of someone through death, divorce, moving, or another type of change. They share their responses and discuss an article relating...

Use this economic activity to focus on writing summaries of informational text. First, middle schoolers define common economic terms used to describe news about the economy. They closely read news about the federal budget deficit and...

Enter the fantastical world of  "Dungeons and Dragons" and other role-playing games with this activity from The New York Times. Middle schoolers create the outline for a role-playing game based on their own community. Then,...

Students explore the concept of human rights by examining the arresting of prominent Chinese dissidents who are members of the China Democratic Party. They develop and defend their own Bill of Human Rights and write a reflective essay.

Students write about the relationship between comedy and personal pain in their journals. After reading an article, they examine the Humber College school of comedy. They brainstorm difficult events in their own lives and create...

Young scholars write poetry that captures their feelings about their city or town. After presenting their poetry at a class reading students compare their poetry to the work of published poets who have written about the same city.

Students consider different stories and story-telling techniques of animated and live-action filmmaking, write proposals for animated films, and storyboard individual scenes.

Students consider popular trends, such as rock fashion. They create designs for t-shirts that represent current pop culture and write pitch letters selling their ideas to the clothing industry in the year 2030.

Students reflect on the lives of older people they know, then research and debate the key issues surrounding scientific experimentation in anti-aging. They write a short story that reflects their own philosophical beliefs on aging and...

Learners research and create a book highlighting significant events and trends throughout the world in the year 2002. Then, through creative writing, they respond to the events or trends themselves and how they affected our world.

Young scholars examine the number of women in the United States Senate. After reading an article, they discover Hillary Clinton's possible bid for the presidential nomination for the Democratic party. In groups, they research the lives...

Young scholars become familiar with the workings of Windows 3.11 especially Program Manager, File Manager, and MS DOS Prompt. They open, develop, save, and copy a text file within the windows environment.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...

The Battle of Fort Sumter was both the first and the least deadly battle of the American Civil War, with no soldiers lost during the lengthy bombardment. Learn more about the first shots of the Civil War with a short reading passage and...

Learners consider the meanings of Christmas by reading an op-ed. As a class, they then create a sequel to the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas," in which "Mamma" tells a story about the history of Christmas.

Students write reflective essays discussing some of their most poignant holiday memories. They illustrate their writing with original artwork and photographs to contribute to a class-designed holiday memory book.

Students link important individuals who shaped the news in 2002 by playing a variation of a game based on the idea that all people can be connected with 6 or less associations between them. They propose appropriate New Year's resolutions.

Students further their understanding of the United Nations inspections in Iraq. They develop flow charts to organize ideas for interactive scenarios about the inspections in which the choices made determine the outcome.