Analogies are useful when communicating ideas that a reader wouldn't otherwise understand. This tutorial explains how to use analogy in writing.

Introduce your students to the different types of non-fiction such as biographies, biographies, and informative books. Students will use graphic organizers, peer interaction, and hands-on experiences to further understanding of this lesson.

Middle schoolers will learn how to compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how authors of fiction use or alter history. Included...

A printable pyramid for use with nonfiction texts while students identify the main ideas and supporting details within a text. Students also determine author's purpose and key vocabulary words. Directions on how to use this type of...

Big Ideas: Authors write historical fiction to show the reader what it was like to live in a certain time period. Readers can use historical fiction to learn about new settings. People are influenced by and react to their setting so you...

This site is a personal site from Caro Clarke. The third installment in this series looks at the four major mistakes made by beginning authors. The main idea of this article is that the author needs to be able to combine dialogue with...

Students will read chapter four of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, noting both the time traveler's descriptions of the new world of 800,000 ACE, and the conclusions the main character draws as a 19th century man. Students will think of a...

What makes science fiction so exciting? Read some examples of the genre and then create your own science fiction story about space travel. Use the supplied "travel guide" to generate ideas and structure your plot.

This is short biography & an excerpt of an interview with children's author Joan Aiken. She speaks about her influences, ideas, and future writings.

Jo's Journey, a novel by Nikki Tate, follows the adventures of an orphan girl named Jo as she heads north disguised as a boy to look for gold during the Caribou Gold Rush. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, teaching ideas and...

Peggy's Letters, a novel by Jacqueline Halsey, is set in World War II London during the bombing raids and looks at the experience through a child's eyes. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, teaching ideas and the author's...

Under a Living Sky, a novel by Joseph Simons set on the prairies during the Depression, is about a young girl whose treasured handmade doll disappears after her sister becomes jealous of it. This teacher's guide includes a book summary,...

Emily's Dream, a historical novel written by Jacqueline Pearce, is a sequel to her book Discovering Emily and goes on to look at the teenage years of Canadian artist Emily Carr. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, teaching...

Discovering Emily, a historical novel written by Jacqueline Pearce, looks at the childhood of Canadian artist Emily Carr. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, teaching ideas and the author's reflections on writing the book.

In Runaway, a novel by Becky Citra, a boy must make some difficult decisions about whether to help another boy that he has seen steal but who is also being physically abused. The story is set in the 1830s in Upper Canada. This teacher's...

This article presents lots of excellent ideas for having students create digital texts, both fiction and nonfiction. Examples of student work, narrated by the students, are provided.

Come and check out this incredible resource from the University of Oregon. This site features links to creative-writing for poetry and fiction, as well as other teacher resources.

This comprehensive teacher's guide for the book "Zathura" by Chris Van Allsburg provides us with an opportunity to examine how writers blend scientific information with a fictional story.

Check out this literature guide for the book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," by J.K. Rowling. In addition to a very brief overview of the book, there are questions to think about, several activities, and a song. All help...

"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They traveled from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean with the help of Native Americans and made maps along the way. It is followed by...

"A Garden in Lawndale" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about an eighth grade class who planted a garden in a vacant lot by their school and maintained it to improve their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response...

"After the Chicago Fire" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how Chicago was rebuilt after the great fire. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...

"The Chicago Journey" is a one page, fictional passage about a clild and his mother hurrying to catch a train to hear an acceptance speech from an election (Obama). It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence...

Catching Spring, a novel written by Sylvia Olsen, looks at a First Nations boy who wants to participate in a fishing derby on Vancouver Island in 1957. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, teaching ideas and the author's...