Have your young reporters research contributions of the ancient Egyptians, draft scripts, and broadcast their stories live on the Nile Network News. Depending on class size and age, topics may be brainstormed or assigned. The detailed...

What was your most (exciting, maddening, nervous, thrilling, etc.) experience in school? A part of a unit on narrative writing, in this lesson class members review the elements of the form and then choose an event when they learned a...

Students complete writing activities for fiction. In this fiction writing lesson, students complete four sets of activities in a writer's workshop format to practice reading and writing in a fiction style. Students develop plot outlines,...

Explore persuasive writing with your middle schoolers. They each choose a place they would like to visit in the United States and do research to determine its features and attractions. Is it worthy of visiting? Using their persuasive...

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...

Does your langauge arts class journal frequently? Extend one of your journaling activities by having your writers choose a journal entry and take it through the five stages of writing. They will use the attached graphic organizer to...

Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.

Begin this expository writing activity by reading a non-fiction book of your choice and modeling expository writing. The plan suggests The Trip of a Drip by Vicki Cobb but notes that other texts will work. Learners then choose a...

Honk if you love bumper stickers! Long used as a persuasive tool, bumper stickers are used to launch this study of persuasive writing. Each class member is given a bumper sticker and asked to formulate three questions the strip might...

Personify your Inner Editor. After making a richly detailed paper doll of your Inner Editor, put him or her in your locker, under your bed or buried in a time capsule in your backyard, but not near where you like to write. Refuse to...

Guide your writers in the pre-writing stage of a research project. Print this sheet to help each writer select an appropriate research topic. They practice narrowing and broadening two different options provided. A natural follow-up...

Introduce young writers to the writing process. Activities model the steps in the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, polishing). A logic tree template is also included. 

First drafted in the year 996, The Pillow Book contains reflections of those met by a lady-in-waiting in the Japanese court. A brief summary, historical context, and discussion questions are provided on the first two pages. Then, two...

Key concepts, major writers, and historical events related to Transcendentalism are explored in a student-produced PowerPoint about this movement. The presentation could be used as an introduction to a unit or as a model that class...

A fishing hook inspires this presentation about different methods for starting a composition. Have class members take notes or edit current drafts while viewing the slide show. The animation is entertaining, but gets repetitive by the...

A variation of a standard graphic organizer for a five-paragraph essay, young writers may find this style of organization helpful while drafting their writing. Some key features of this particular organizer are sections for transition...

Struggling on what steps to take in your expository essay lesson? Or confused on what to include for your scribes? This exercise in the process of expository writing provides concepts and structure for the educator on what the writers...

Crafting a compare-contrast essay can prove to be a challenge even for experienced writers.  Eradicate the mystery with a PowerPoint that details the rationale for and the structure of this form of expository writing. The 20-slide...

Drafting a strong first sentence for a summary is an important step. Writers can use the formula presented on this handout to get started. The resource lists three steps to put together a strong topic sentence, as well as tips and hints...

Find out what your Spanish pupils like and dislike with an oral presentation in the form of a video, poster, or PowerPoint. The assignment page provides requirements for the project in paragraph and checklist format. Pairs can use the...

Designed to accompany a reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this packet includes before, during, and after reading activities. Individuals respond to questions about events in the story, match characters with quotes, and draft...

Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.

To demonstrate their understanding of the relationships in Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, readers are asked to assume the voice of one of the characters and draft a letter addressing another individual in the story.

While the Constitution is considered enshrined today, its current form is the result of haggling at a secret convention in 1787. Using transcripts from the meetings and various plans as drafted by the delegates, class members unpack the...