What is the biggest issue facing young people today? Class members consider the question—along with other provocative pieces from the New York Times—and then try to write their own arguments and back them up with evidence. Once complete,...

Where's the data? After choosing from a list of business topics, scholars embark on a research project. They develop a strong thesis statement, follow MLA formatting requirements, select sources, and write a five-paragraph research...

Does Bud use his rules to survive or thrive? That is the driving question of a lesson plan following the reading of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. In an argument essay prewriting activity, pupils use textual evidence to...

What is it that makes people keep going when they face challenges in life? Ask your class to consider this question in relation to their own experiences and as they read material from The New York Times. Using personal experiences...

Step into a scientist's shoes to go online and discover the Florida Springs Expedition, and participate in two activities focusing on how humans impact the environment. The first activity asks scholars to summarize the six...

Phrases such as "This paper is going to be about" and "I am going to tell you about" do not make for effective thesis statements. A handout from the UNC Writing Center helps writers break from those phrases to craft effective thesis...

An English Language Arts Reading Comprehension Practice Test for Grade 10 asks scholars to read a poem and answer two multiple-choice questions about the poem. They finish the task by responding to an open-response essay question. 

The English Language Arts Examination handout contains a variety of multiple-choice questions to assess reading comprehension, in addition to a source-based argument essay and text-analysis response prompts.

Ever felt stuck in the middle? Some characters do. Scholars choose a novel or play and write essays describing how a character is stuck between cultures. Writers also analyze the techniques used in a passage from We Were the Mulvaneys...

Is there a secret to keeping secrets? Scholars choose a character in a novel or play and analyze how the character keeps a secret.  Writers also craft essays to reveal elements of poetry and the use of language in a passage. The...

The released 2003 AP® exam asks scholars to read and respond to two poems about the love god Eros. They also analyze the characterization and narrative in The Other Paris. A final essay question requires pupils to choose a novel or play...

Santa is not the only one in the chimney! Scholars compare two poems written about using children as chimney sweepers. They also create essays about literary devices in a passage and about a character's struggle with inward and outward...

How does perspective change a person's view? Scholars view different perspectives as they compare the styles of two different authors describing a flock of birds. Writers also create essays in response to entertainment ruining society...

What led the United States to acquire territory? What were some of the effects of those acquisitions? Learners explore the questions using the 2014 essay from the New York Regents exam. Other items include practice multiple choice...

Readers take all the information they gained from the last 19 lessons and complete an essay describing how King develops his purpose and claim in "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Pupils use a rubric and checklist to help guide their...

Four lessons make up a unit focused on writing persuasive essays. Each unit builds on the last, ultimately taking pupils through the writing process. Scholars make a claim, create an argument, debate both sides, then state their opinion....

To accomplish great things, and to produce great essays, writers plan. Introduce your young writers to the prewriting stage of the writing process with a template that asks them to brainstorm and list as many ideas as possible....

If it's true that preparation is the key to success, the English Language Arts Examination handout should help pupils ace their exams. Scholars read several texts and answer multiple-choice questions. Then, they write source-based...

How do central ideas build on each other in Shakespeare's Hamlet? Scholars begin the first part of an end-of-unit assessment. They complete a Central Idea Evidence Collection Tool worksheet to prepare for a writing activity to discuss...

There's a fine line between madness and genius. Using the resource, scholars complete a mid-unit assessment based on their study of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. They write a multi-paragraph response, analyzing how two central...

In this basic essay-writing worksheet, students are guided through the first parts of the writing process. They are then on their own to complete the essay.

Learners identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Learners write a narrative...

In this essay outline worksheet, students apply a quotation from Julius Caesar to their own lives and formulate an outline for a well developed five paragraph essay. The outline includes quotes and examples to fully support the author's...

Twelfth graders explore Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this reading and writing lesson, 12th graders read the book and think of five books to save from the fire. Students write an essay explaining why they'd save them. The essay...