Did Bernie Madoff fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer because, as Diana Henrique contends in an excerpt from her The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death, he “did not fit the profile of a Ponzi schemer”? Huh? Groups begin their...

Students demonstrate their creativity by creating a magazine to express expository text. In this expository text lesson plan, students create a magazine in groups to creatively make text interesting.

Young scholars compose expository essays. In this written communication instructional activity, students examine paragraphs from sample expository essays and then discuss the attributes of well-written essays prior to writing their own...

First graders read stories and make observations about the life cycle of an apple tree. They write and illustrate expository text about apple trees and make applesauce.

Young scholars observe and demonstrate the steps to identifying the main ideas of a text. They listen to the teacher read a paragraph and model the steps of summarizing the main idea. Students then independently read a different...

Students examine the process of summarization by creating an event map. They discuss the process of summarizing text, then silently read an article from "Time For Kids" magazine. Students observe the teacher create a map for the...

Students listen as the teacher reads the poem 'I Wish I Could Meet the Man That Knows' by John Ciardi. They share what they visualized as the teacher read the poem. They practice reading the book "Frindle" silently while creating...

Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...

Reading, writing, and rings! A lesson from NASA combines space science with authentic reading and writing tasks. Included in this lesson are pre-reading activities, four mini informational booklets on Saturn, a structured...

Learners read the book, The Great Migration by National Geographic, then complete this set of related worksheets. They review vocabulary, complete five short answer questions, discuss push and pull factors for the migration, then write a...

Identifying the theme or central idea of a text is a skill many young readers struggle with. It is also the second standard for reading literature in the Common Core. This resource, one from a series of Common Core lessons, can provide...

Readers organize and display three ideas that support a topic, as well as two details that support each idea. 

The Humane Society provides a lesson in which class members explore the issue of tethering dogs. Through the resources used -- a comic, a poem, and narrative and expository writings -- class members realize that messages can be conveyed...

This simple presentation has students focus on the objective of sentences they write. The focus is on being concise and clear in their sentence writing. They practice writing sentences based on the instructions given in the slides. Some...

Students employ information literacy skills to research topics. They develop topics using a graphic organizer. They draft, revise and edit research projects. They write an expository essay. They create a web page in Microsoft Publisher.

Learners explore poetry and its meaning. After reading poems, students explore the literary elements such as the setting, character, problem, events and resolution. They compare and contrast descriptions given in poems. Learners...

Learning by example is always effective if it's paired with independent practice opportunities! Model good reading practices for your class. Learners listen to the teacher model examples of reading with voice, expression, and tone...

Students discuss the concept of asking questions while reading. They discuss the types of questions to ask that will improve their comprehension. Students read from a textbook and practice creating questions to ask themselves while...

Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson plan. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson plan includes several options to...

Examine how climate and landforms affect plants and animals that live in particular areas. Discover that these same factors affect peoples' homes, jobs, and recreational activities. Pupils research ecosystems and biomes, and then write...

State reports can be a lot of fun, especially when the learners get to choose the state they study. This research and writing-focused social studies lesson engages learners in collecting information, essay structure, research, and...

Celebrate inventions such as lightning rods, bifocals, and stoves with a Ben Franklin Day. Young historians conduct research and write a paragraph about an accomplishment of Benjamin Franklin including an illustration...

Young scholars learn how to read a short section and parepare a sentence to share with the group. Students listen to the reading of expository text, restate, in sentence format, one fact learned from that text, and produce a report.

Students write an expository paragraph about the uses of the Nashua River for the Native Americans and the European Colonists. In this river uses lesson plan, students determine the causes and effects of both parties using the river.