Happy birthday! Celebrate everyone's birthday with this writing activity, which prompts seventh graders to research historical events in a country at the time of their birth to create an essay. Working in pairs, they proofread each...

Students identify persuasive words in provided leaflets. In this factual writing lesson plan, students complete an online activity. A worksheet is provided for extra practice.

Students write a business letter. In this factual writing lesson, students complete an online activity. Groups also draft a reply to a complaint letter. A worksheet is included for extra practice.

Practice persuasive writing skills in this thorough lesson. After selecting issues and discovering viewpoints, middle schoolers write letters or brochures created to express the individual's perspective. The ideas are presented to the...

Explain a natural phenomenon in an original myth. After researching the phenomenon they have chosen, young readers use factual information to include in their myth.  They find synonyms and new phrases to create vivid images as they...

Engage your English learners with this resource. To begin, learners describe a map to a partner. After a vocabulary exercise and a jumbled letter activity, pupils are asked to write their own letter. The letter reading and writing...

Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times lesson provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify...

Get scholars thinking about the scientific process with this fun experiment they can do at home. Learners practice reading directions as they underline each instruction in a procedural paragraph. They create a flow chart and record...

Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research lesson, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in groups to research...

A handy TFDC (topic/fact/detail/conclusion) graphic organizer (included) allows young writers to outline and record their main ideas and supporting details in the prewriting phase. They then continue to add details to the topic sentences...

Students improve their reading and writing skills using Step Up to Writing and Six Traits of Writing techniques. Students complete a Robinson Crusoe vocabulary crossword, a Treasure Island character analysis web, reading comprehension...

Students write step-by-step instructions for tasks. In this factual writing lesson, students complete an online activity. Each group also writes directions for completing a task. A worksheet is available for more practice.

If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive lesson allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and provides...

Examine human resilience across two texts with a detailed unit. Over the course of a week, learners will conduct a close reading of excerpts from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar. The resource includes clear procedures for reading and...

Students participate in various Columbus Day activities. In this holiday lesson, students construct paper boats and read various books about Columbus. Students are shown an educational video about Columbus to reinforce factual information.

Young scholars criticially read an unfinished creative writing piece, answer factual questions concerning the piece, and then finish the story or create their own story about their own neigborhood and possible environmental issues.

Twelfth graders hone descriptive writing skills by making a J. Peterman Catalogue. They bring to class a favorite piece of clothing or jewelry item and create their own description of it. They accompany each description with a hand-drawn...

Learners share their memories of a recent event. They use Elie Wiesel's night to help them recongize a memoir. They write a memoir about a recent school event that was shared by many. They also gather evidence that supports their version...

We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?

Five vocabulary activities help kids to put words into context while reinforcing their definitions. They find synonyms and antonyms, finish analogies, and use context clues to study ten words on the list.

A set of very useful posters (in PDF) describing different types of non-fiction texts is here for you. While there isn't an activity, per se, in these worksheets, they could be used as a handy reference for learners who are engaging in...

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.

An entomologist named Geroge Vernon Hudson is credited with proposing Daylight Saving Time (DST) so he could better study his insects. Using the informative website, scholars read a brief introduction to the topic and then explore the...

Students describe the basic life history of one shorebird common to their area. They use the writing process which includes brainstorming, rough draft writing, peer editing, and re-writing to create a factually and grammatically...