Language learners use the debate format to practice formulating, expressing, and defending their ideas. Working in teams, class members develop resolutions, use opinion indicators to express their opinions and reasons, and prepare...

Don't be caught in the dark! Young scientists investigate the causes of both solar and lunar eclipses using an interactive to help them understand the development of an eclipse over time. They then research facts and characteristics...

You don't have to be a Minecraft wiz to know that this app has great playability for your learners! As afterschool programs and classroom projects around the world demonstrate, this game goes well beyond placing blocks and traditional...

Explain the importance of radioactive half-life as your high school biologists demonstrate the concept by performing a series of steps designed to simulate radioactive decay. Pupils use pennies to perform an experiment and gather data....

Take a "conservative" approach to planning your next unit on mass and matter! What better way to answer "But where did the gas go?" than with a lab designed to promote good report writing, research skills, and detailed observation....

Here's a topic classes can really dig—the fossil record. Use the well-organized and thoughtful road map to take eighth graders back in time to unearth the answer. Learn how our climate has changed, and how organisms have...

Looking for a way to bring prewriting into your informative writing unit? Use this lesson to reinforce writing skills in your eighth grade language arts class. Young writers use a web graphic organizer as a prewriting tool for expository...

It's time to write! First, lead your emerging writers in a power writing activity. It takes six minutes and focuses on creative brainstorming. The class is given two words (duck and apple are suggested, but alter the words for different...

Show, don't tell! Pairs work together to change a list of telling sentences into showing sentences using picture words that create vivid pictures in the readers’ minds.

Young scholars find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Young scholars then practice rewriting sentences using...

Students participate in a lesson plan that involves writing a persuasive essay. They use the prompt of "extending the school day". The paper should contain correct elements of sentence structure with clear purpose that is supported with...

Sixth graders engage in a project to persuade classmates to read a certain novel. They create a poster using persuasive advertising language. Media can be included in the form of pictures and other graphics to make the visual...

Learners analyze primary source documents to determine how life was for slaves. In this slavery instructional activity, students view online resources from the Library of Congress to analyze and discuss. Learners select a final object to...

Develop concepts on how to change your improving wordsmiths' writing from blah to wow with the activities and ideas in this resource. The instructor provides the class with examples of writing that lacks detail and precision, and then...

With their action plans in place, groups now develop a presentation to get others interested in their project. Scholars learn how to present themselves during a presentation and elaborate on and add visuals to their presentation. After...

Zoos are just elaborate arrays. Scholars learn the meaning of arrays and how to create them in Minecraft. Applying this knowledge, they write a program to create a zoo within the game's world. They also complete an independent project...

Students explore language arts by reading an English related story. In this sentence structure instructional activity, students identify prepositions and discuss how to utilize them effectively in sentence writing. Students read the...

Eighth graders investigate varous writing skills as part of larger course of study. The lesson is essentially a rough guide for conducting a class for writing. The main focus of the plan is organizing ideas using various strategies that...

Young scholars write their own books based on a life experience that they have had. In this life experiences lesson plan, students practice the writing process along with illustrating their book.

Students choose a paragraph from a book of their choice, identify the main idea, and draw an illustration of the main idea. They write original paragraphs, illustrate them, and trade with a partner, identifying the main idea of the...

Young scholars investigate the elements found in a media image. The image is used to compose a descriptive paragraph. They exchange papers to discuss the writing and make changes using constructive criticism. Students also make...

Students work in pairs to interview each other. They identify interviewing skills and methods, conduct a preliminary interview, develop a working script from the notes and participate in a final interview for the camera.

For this sentence completion worksheet, young scholars choose the best word(s) to complete twelve sentences. Students must fill in more than one word per sentence in some instances.

Students discover methods that can save the planet by recycling.  For this sustainable planet lesson, students read The Berenstein Bears Don't Pollute Anymore, and practice memorizing the 3 R's.  Students write commitment...