Supporting characters need detail and characteristics just like a main character. Keep your budding authors entrenched in detail as they write their novels. This lesson focuses on developing supporting characters using personal...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.

Celebrate and honor Native American culture with this set of graphic organizers that showcases literature like The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses and A Boy Called Slow as well as three other Native American literature books....

Here's something unusual and thoughtful: have your scholars do some pensive reflection themselves before tackling how such meditative techniques are used in prison rehabilitation programs. They watch the...

Have you ever cheated on a test? What about copied someone else's homework? After reading Colleen Wenke's essay "Too Much Pressure," class members use the provided reading comprehension questions to focus their analysis of important...

Pupils write with a sharp, distinct focus identifying topic, task and audience. They discuss anticipatory statements with supporting details. Students create an essential question at the beginning of a composition, novel, or unit.

Readers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are directed to complete two projects as a part of their study of Mark Twain’s novel.  Individuals craft an organized notebook containing all their work during the study, and they...

Chapter six of In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez's historical novel about the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a learning exercise that asks readers to define a list of vocabulary words and respond to a series of...

Students write a descriptive writing piece. In this writing activity, students use a visualization exercise to add more descriptions to their writing.

Third graders explore communications by utilizing technology. In this e-mail writing lesson plan, 3rd graders identify important elements to include when writing an e-mail based on whether it's to a friend, colleague or employer....

In this creative writing activity worksheet, students collaborate to write a story using the words characters, captivate, focus, intrigue, imagination, plot, recognition, style, and wisdom.

Students identify the attributes of informative brochures. In this written communication lesson, students examine sample brochures and persuasive essays to investigate the layout and the information presented. Students then create their...

The ability to write a concise and effective resume is an essential skill for those seeking employment. Prepare your pupils for the working world with a resume-writing assignment. Start off by showing them this presentation, which...

Fourth graders experience a dress rehearsal of timed demand writing. This lesson allows students to prepare for a timed writing test in which they don't know the prompt. This lesson includes writing prompts and rubrics imbedded in the plan.

Students write position papers on a form of alternative energy production. They use several class periods to develop and write their paper and them participate in an extensive peer review session.

Second graders analyze descriptive writing. For this writing lesson, 2nd graders read a story with a villain, describe the villain in words, and create a Wanted Poster describing him on paper.

Students write a cultural narrative. In this multicultural writing lesson plan, students create an expository narrative to teach others about their lives. Students complete the narrative and use a buddy editing strategy to revise their...

In this writing instructional activity, learners read and practice the correct steps on how to write a good report. Students read a total of eight steps.

What do Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman have in common? They're all characters from beloved holiday movies that viewers revisit in the play Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!). Scholars conduct research...

Students brainstorm animals with unusual characteristics such as a giraffe with a short neck or a zebra without stripes. They write paragraphs about their animals and work in peer editing groups to refine their stories.

Fourth graders identify the benefits of using a field guide for nature observations. They then field trip to a natural setting to prepare for writing. They record their observations, and write a journal entry using the steps of the...

A simple worksheet asks learners to write five numbers in decimal form. Sets of blocks represent the numbers and include whole number blocks, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths. Use this to follow other worksheets by the same publisher...

Young scholars create an expository essay. In this writing lesson Students are assigned a country and must conduct research surrounding a historic event that occurred in that country at the time of their birth.

Fourth graders practice descriptive writing by describing a fictitious monster they created.  In this language arts lesson, 4th graders illustrate an image of a monster character they imagine and practice using their vocabulary to...