Learners who have recently learned about similes and metaphors practice putting them in their writing. They get a better understanding of how similes and metaphors can be used by practicing the usage of them in their own personal...

Show a video clip that descripes how taking a journey can change a person's outlook on life. Learners write a paragraph about a place that uses imagery and tone to create a specfic effect. They evaluate their journal entries as well.

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...

Students write "Guess Who?" poems in a descriptive manner. They listen to the poems as they are read aloud and try to guess who the poem belongs to.

Students explore emotions and memories in preparation for poetry writing. In this poetry lesson students use a graphic organizer and prompts to begin to describe a specific memory which they will turned into a poem.

Get to know your learners on a deeper level or invite them to step into someone else's shoes by introducing them to a bio poem. With this type of poetry, scholars will answer questions such as self-description, hopes for the future, and...

Students identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Students construct their own...

Seventh graders read a descriptive language poem and then create a collage of what they feel the poem means to them. In this poems lesson plan, 7th graders take notes on the poem, and make the collage in groups.

A clever lesson plan designed around an apple awaits your learners. Descriptive words are used to explain what they believe is inside a bag while using their five senses. Young scholars read the story The Apple Pie Tree and are...

Explore the cultural heritage through of your class through reading, writing, and speaking exercises. They create illustrated mini-books that express their unique cultural and personal experiences. They share their stores with the class...

Are you working on an Outsiders unit? Use this list of activities to deepen your middle schoolers' understanding of the novel. After reading S.E. Hinton's novel, young readers work on three required activities, including participating in...

Can colors help to convey a mood in writing? Explore this question with your class using the songs "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band and "Blu is a Mood" by Blu Cantrell. After analyzing the effect of the color words in these songs...

Here are some cross-curricular activities whil should help your kids understnad weight measurements and grammar. In this grammar and math instructional activity, students read the book Skittles Riddles and practice counting and balancing...

Before beginning F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, create a historical context of the Roaring 20s with this lesson. Set up a gallery walk with the provided PowerPoint, which features 10 topics related to the 1920s. Then begin...

Music can help us to access memories and events in a meaningful way, and Francis Scott Key used specific words to convey what he had seen and felt when writing what would become America's national anthem. Help your class connect to...

Students write a description of their own life in the same style used in the first poem in Out of the Dust.  In this Out of the Dust lesson plan, students discuss open form poetry and how the spacing and line breaks create a...

Learners reflect on field trips in writing. In this journal writing lesson, students write about a recent experience by using 4 of their senses to tell what they remember. They turn these into poetry. 

Third graders write their own haiku poem after a activity on the history and format of a haiku. In this poetry lesson plan, 3rd graders write a haiku with the correct lines and symbols.

Students observe a Botanical Gardens. Upon returning to the classroom, students write their own Haiku based on their observations.

Students identify characteristics of good poetry and compose their own.  In this marine poetry lesson, students are introduced to several different types of poetry with a marine theme.  After discussing the elements...

Third graders read a book about emigrating to America. They create and illustrate a triante poem using sensory words, depicting something they liked about the story.

Students create a food product and an advertisement promoting it.  In this description and advertising lesson, students read children's book for inspiration and discover advertising techniques.  Students complete their ads and...

Students research child labor using Internet resources. They present the information in a creative writing piece and post it on Chalkboard.

Students read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...