Practice being concise. Exercise your vocabulary. Improve your editing skills. The contention in this lesson is that by imposing a 140 character limit, the Twitter format actually helps improve writing skills. And of course class tweets...

Introduce your young writers to the five-paragraph expository essay format with a four-page worksheet that uses color codes to model for writers how to craft the essay. Although designed to prepare writers for the GED, the approach can...

What's in a name? Pupils create a data set from the number of letters in the names of classmates. Each group then takes the data and creates a visual representation, such as a histogram, circle graph, stem-and-leaf plot, etc.

Collaborate with another class (or school) and have your learners share ideas about their reading through the use of email. Perhaps you'll create a specific question or a few questions for writers to choose from. Not only will they...

Students advocate for clean water.  In this water pollution lesson, students play the Peace Corps Challenge Game, discuss the effects of polluted water and write a letter to the mayor of Wanzuzu highlighting the situation of the...

Delight your developing docents with this tracing worksheet focused on the lower-case d. After exploring how the "magic pencil" writes, young writers try a few on their own. Young scholars trace letters to complete four CVC words. At the...

Gertrude Stein once said, "Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone." Learners break their silence by engaging in discussion and making lists of what makes them grateful. Next, pupils write and illustrate a thank you letter to a chosen...

Young readers write alphabet letters. They review the alphabet and examine the relationship between letters and sounds. A final activity has each child sequence the story together.

Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...

Discover activities to help learners increase self-awareness, build peer and family relations, and develop positive self-esteem. Here you'll find six suggestions for instilling a sense of confidence and self awareness in youngsters. Each...

Students examine the roles and responsibilities of the U.S. president and their own roles as citizens of a democracy. They explore various websites, listen to a State of the Union address, and write a letter to the President of the...

Ask not what the lesson plan here can do for you, but what you can do with the lesson plan. The answer is quite a lot! Young scholars revisit JFK's famous inaugural address with a focus on his plea for civic engagement....

In a creative writing and health assignment, your pupils will write a letter on behalf of an immune system to apologize for causing a food allergy, while also identifying what food allergies are and what types of foods can cause them.

Bring A Charlie Brown Christmas to social studies, language arts, math, science, and art class! Learners ponder the meaning of Christmas trees, write about Christmas during the original release of the television special,...

Readers analyze paragraphs from the "Letter From Birmingham Jail" and determine King's purpose and how he supports it. Scholars discuss given questions with their peers, learn new vocabulary words, and complete a quick writing prompt.

This project provides students the opportunity to investigate parasites as a possible cause of the observed frog deformities. It asks students to view web-based evidence and interpret whether it supports the parasite hypothesis. Students...

Fifth graders investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. Then they break into groups to complete the training and education for two careers selected from a listing in the lesson....

It's one thing to read history, it's another to live it. Pupils examine secondary and primary sources that detail the training of soldiers before deployment. Then, they consider the impact of primary sources on how they understand the...

Have historians use primary sources to learn about the circumstances and implementation of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and think about the issue of boycotts as a means of effecting social change. Wrap it up with a...

Young historians step into the shoes of immigrants coming to Ellis Island. A simulation creates an experience in which participants visit several rooms, go through an interview process, and receive a stamp in their passport—either making...

Would Machiavelli consider Macbeth a successful ruler? Scholars ponder the intriguing question, demonstrating their knowledge of Shakespeare's Macbeth and Machiavelli's The Prince. They collaborate with peers to share their opinions,...

Practice initial consonant blends with a fun, interactive game! Choose the sounds you'd like to practice, and then have kids place the appropriate pictures for their brick breaker boards. Spin the spinner to select a blended sound, and...

A lesson encourages mini scholars in setting goals. Peers share their hopes and dreams and discuss how each one adds to everyone's unique character. Class members draw themselves in a scene achieving a goal. A follow-up meeting allows...