Film English
Real Beauty
Consider the theme of beauty with discussion about what makes person beautiful and the well-known short film put together by Dove skin care. Class members examine some of the images from the film and discuss the message of the...
Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
Curated OER
The Paragraph
Review the components of a well-written paragraph with your class. Be sure your writers include a topic sentence supported with main ideas and followed by a conclusion. Unity, coherence, and transition words are emphasized. Experiment...
Curated OER
Figurative and literal language through the study of Shakespeare
Sixth graders explore figurative and literal language. They study literary devices through short pieces of Shakespeare's work. Then investigate Shakespeare's works and life.
Curated OER
Grade A: The Market for a Yale Woman's Eggs by Jessica Cohen
What would it be like to sell your eggs to a couple who can't have children on their own? Could you even imagine it? As most of us have never been in this position, this descriptive essay is really quite interesting. The reading itself...
Curated OER
What Makes the Writer Write
Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...
Curated OER
Is Perception Reality? Writing Paradoxes in Poetry
Explore the paradox of the universe - or, at least, of popular music - with this lesson. Using the songs "Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson and "She" by Green Day, your class will complete a graphic organizer to help them understand...
Curated OER
Write a Number Story
Students view number stories at a website and write their own. They insert a drawing and the text of their number story using a software such as PowerPoint to create a presentation for the class and parents.
Curated OER
Writing Expository Paragraphs
Students read Arthur's Pet Business and complete a pre-writing worksheet for expository writing. For this paragraph writing lesson, students gather and organize material for a paragraph about pets.
Curated OER
Interactive Activities to Introduce Teamwork Skills
Introduce teens to the teamwork skills and habits of mind they need to be successful in 21st century classrooms and in the workplace with the activities based on Sean Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.
Lesson Plansos
Guided Reading Activities with Pizzazz
Get the most out of your guided reading lessons with this collection of literacy materials. Offering a system for using color-coded tags to mark pages while reading books, as well as an assortment of comprehension and grammar...
Curated OER
Conversation & Grammar: Future Tenses
This eBook, part of a series devoted to instruction for grammar and conversation, focuses on the future tenses—the future simple, future continuous, future perfect, and future perfect continuous in positive, negative, and question forms.
Curated OER
Streamlining Your Writing
In this writing skills instructional activity, students improve their writing by completing the three exercises. Students improve wordy phrases, add possessive nouns, and then write a description of a dramatic weather event.
Curated OER
School-Home Links: Writing Descriptions
In this descriptive writing activity, learners review the process of descriptive writing. Students choose a topic from the given list and then complete the brainstorming checklist. Parents or guardians must sign the activity.
Anchorage School District
“Dressing Up” an Introduction
Are your pupils ready to move beyond a thesis statement by adding additional detail to their introductory paragraphs? Provide this handout to give your class some ideas for spiffing up their work. The page includes a sample paragraph...
Curated OER
Responses to Literature
Middle and high schoolers hone their writing skills by reading Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the poem Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out. They fill out a graphic organizer (included here), and use the organizer to write an...
Curated OER
Expanding Journal Writing Entries For Beginning Writers
First graders through a variety of strategies assess how to write in journals openly and effectively. Those strategies include integration of technology, story telling, group and team work, performance-based assessment/rubrics, visual...
Curated OER
Literary Lingo
Students make connections between reading and writing. In this language arts lesson, students explore literary elements as they examine a number of texts and practice implementing figurative language into their writing.
Curated OER
Descriptive Persuasive Texts
In this Language Arts worksheet, students read about persuasive writing. Students read an example and complete a chart that organizes the information into facts and opinions.
Curated OER
Monster Writings
Fourth graders practice descriptive writing by describing a fictitious monster they created. In this language arts lesson, 4th graders illustrate an image of a monster character they imagine and practice using their vocabulary to...
Curated OER
Exploring the Galapagos
Students explore the species found in the Galapagos Islands and practice descriptive writing skills by creating a sample journal. They create a fictional journal that documents the places they visit and the species they encounter.
Curated OER
Alphabet Soup Job Descriptions
Eleventh graders investigate New Deal programs. In this Great Depression activity, 11th graders read the provided source materials that detail the agendas of 3 New Deal agencies. Students complete the provided analysis sheets and then...
Curated OER
Colonial Writing Project
Fourth graders write from the perspective of a child in the colonial period. In this writing lesson, 4th graders create a fictional character living in the colonial period and write about daily life from their perspective.
Curated OER
Write A Description
Students practice composing sentences that pertain to the description of a picture. They use critical observation skills in order to derive the best details. The sentences are required to follow the correct subject and verb pattern.