Students are able to revise their own essays for greater clarity and fluency, adding explanation where needed and cutting extraneous information where appropriate. They are able to compose an academic essay with a complete introduction,...

Wow, this instructional activity packs a punch. Pupils interview basketball players, write about a game, and use Excel to organize statistics related to the players and the points scored. Afterward, they create posters, presentations,...

To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...

Those new to teaching an AP level language and composition prep course and seasoned veterans will find much to treasure in a unit that is designed to help young language scholars develop the skills they need to analyze the language...

Students examine life in Babylonia during the time of King Hammurabi. They read and discuss excerpts of the Code of Hammurabi, participate in a simulation of advisors to the king, complete an online interactive activity, answer...

Whether using Touching Spirit Bear in the classroom, as an outside reading assignment, or in a homeschool situation, your readers will benefit from this eight-page packet of essay and discussion questions, vocabulary lists, and reading...

What do images tell us about history? Dress, setting, and actions all convey cultural norms, and in essence, give reference to historical time and place. Learners compare and contrast Kunisada's Actor with Flute in Snow to Hokuei's...

Learners practice combining sentences using the conjunction handout provided. They search magazines and newspapers to identify combined sentences that use conjunctions. Finally, these are rewritten again as two separate sentences.

In 1856 Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over the head with a cane. This event, which highlighted the acrimonious debate over the expansion of slavery, is the focus of a paper...

How diverse are the benthic organisms found in local streams? Using the information learned in previous lessons on identification of macroinvertebrates and on calculating stream index values, groups determine the health of local...

Young scholars effectively revise character descriptions.  In this revising character descriptions lesson, students work with a partner to give and receive constructive criticism to improve their character descriptions. 

Young scholars discuss and develop graphic writing webs, writing supporting ideas for a given topic.

Students 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.

Young scholars analyze patterns of organization used in writing to determine how and when comparisons and contrasts can be effectively utilized to identify similarities and differences or pros and cons.

Seventh graders practice their writing skills by identifying their goals for the semester. They write an essay of four paragraphs and then combine all the information into one. As a class, they create a contract for each of them to use...

Pupils identify heroic character traits that they admire and that inspire trust and result in service to others. They identify the heroic traits of a character of their choosing and defend their reasoning using evidence from the text and...

Students study the appropriate formats for giving examples in American discourse style. A ladder approach is used to demonstrate the concept. They write paragraphs about abstract concepts, such as beauty, wealth, and love, using methods...

Students conduct Internet research to identify the conflicts and positions of slaves, slaveholders, and members of the Underground Railroad network in the time preceding the Civil War. Students write an essay about their findings written...

High schoolers brainstorm a list of the achievements of people in their lives. In groups, they discuss the decisions that help people meet their goals later in life and identify values that help one overcome obstacles. They use the...

Students practice writing career oriented letters and filling out job applications. As a class, they review the proper ways to make citations and identify the difference between the various types of letter formats. They use peer editing...

Students study the causes and effects of King Philip's War. In this Native American history lesson plan, students examine the options that the Native Americans had in 1676 New England. Students weigh the pros and cons of the situation...

Students explore the spread of Islam in ancient civilizations. In this Islam lesson, students research and discuss the Muslim beliefs, stereotypes, and history. Students write essays that address the topic and create posters to inform...

Students explain the components of a speech outline and write an interesting speech.

Students explore myths in ancient times.  For this mythology lesson, students read or view a video production of a myth to determine specific characteristics of myths. Students work in groups to write a myth that explains an...