Eleventh graders participate in activities that compare and contrast The Canterbury Tales with the television show, Survivor. They write a compare and contrast essay, and create a festival table and PowerPoint presentation.

Fifth graders explore both the causes of and the actual events of the Civil War. They write essays and descriptive paragraphs and explore a variety of websites. They create a series of skits highlighting the key points of the Civil War era.

Students consider various economic terms, examine the impact of subsidies on farmers and other industries, write essays explaining the subsidy process, and illustrate through posters how subsidies affect both domestic and foreign markets.

Sixth graders create a descriptive essay and map describing their island paradise. They try to evoke the reader's senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. They revise their paragraphs using their partner's feedback.

Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Using a set of primary source documents, such as descriptions of climate phenomena and images of weather events, pupils consider how climate shapes history. A second essay prompt and multiple-choice questions with documents engage...

Students research an event or a person from a decade in American history when the civil rights movement was an important focus. They create a multimedia project based on the research.

Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions...

Students write a research paper on hurricanes. In this weather lesson, students use a science text book to write down facts about hurricanes on note cards and then outline their essay. Students use the outline to create an organized essay.

Students read literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing the main characters in the two stories. In this character analysis lesson, students read the stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil. Students...

Middle schoolers use their senses to help describe special place they have been. They write short sensory-image essay that incorporate all five of their senses, and identify sensory language while reading different pieces of literature.

Students compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons lesson, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.

Students write a four paragraph essay that tells about two things in society that Ray Bradbury criticizes in the book, Fahrenheit 451. In this social criticism lesson, students develop a thesis based on their reading of the book and...

Students write a four paragraph persuasive paper on Of Mice and Men. In this Of Mice and Men lesson, students take a position on whether or not George should have killed Lennie. Students are given a paragraph-by-paragraph guide to assist...

Learners discover details about the rise of civilizations. In this Roman history lesson, students watch "Civilizations: Rise to Power," and read primary sources from different periods of the empire's history. Learners write essays that...

High schoolers read plays, short stories, or novels which revolve around trials, and write essays explaining or defending the assigned role in a mock fairy tale trial.

Tenth graders explore the impact of the Industrial Revolution. In this Industrialization lesson plan, 10th graders take notes on a SMART Board presentation and conduct research on urbanization, enclosure, assembly lines, boarding houses,...

Students profile New York City Mayors Rudolph W. Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg and research the actions they took before and after terrorist incidents since 1993. They then write essays about the contribution made by their own mayors.

Students examine the clash between the North and the South. In this Civil War lesson plan, students watch segments of the Discovery video "The Civil War: A Nation Divided". Students conduct further research pertaining to the...

Students examine a specific case of genocide participation in Rwanda. Working in groups, they simulate the courtroom drama, from the positions of victim, perpetrator, and court monitor. They conclude by writing essays on the...

Ninth graders identify an ordinary object and write an ode for the subject. For this poetry writing lesson, 9th graders select an ordinary object and define its uses. Students then write an ode for the poem.

Explore basic paragraphs. Young writers compose a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. This lesson plan is intended for use with a SMART Board, a software technology web link is induced. 

Students explore the elements of a narrative for its purpose, type of audience, mood, main character, minor characters, setting, and conflicts in the story. A story outline is developed and a five paragraph essay composed in this lesson.