It's fun to write a poem with iambs! Practice using iambs in all types of different poems with an online poetry lesson.

A language arts instructional activity helps young writers identify elements that make up historical fiction. First, it guides them through elements of fictional pieces with vocabulary cards. Then, pupils work collaboratively to...

Learners discover how to determine the flavor of a jellybean using different key documents.  For this economics lesson, students discuss Virginia economics and begin an activity in which they will help decide on the what jellybean...

"We need forgiveness and someone to blame." True? Class members continue their analysis of the central claims in Walter Mosley's essay and the support he offers for these claims about people's fascination with crime.

What's your style? Writers examine wording to add formal style and objective tone to their argumentative papers. After looking at examples of sentences, learners use turn and talk to discuss which sentences have a formal style before...

Autism isn't an illness or a disability. In the first chapter of Animals in Translation, we learn about Temple Grandin's unique ability to understand animals through her experience with autism. Having read pages four through eight for...

Why is it important to make connections across texts? Scholars discover the answer with instructional activity 12 of 14 from the Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 2 series. Pupils analyze the development of ideas in three nonfiction texts,...

Here is an inventive, and easy-to-implement lesson on the writing of topic sentences. Learners review what a topic sentence is, practice identifying topic sentences in an informational article, then play a really cool game. All of the...

The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...

Poetry is a very personal and introspective art form. Give your class the opportunity to understand how a poet's voice can speak to them on a personal level, and that every reader can respond to an author differently. After a poetic...

Nothing aids in comprehension more than an explanation and understanding of why things are done. Address why the Common Core requires the reading percentages that it established and analyze how this affects your readers. Learners read...

Learners read a book and observe the wind and how it affects the environment. They explore what wind does by looking at pictures, reading a book, and by completing an experiment. They will use their own knowledge of the wind and compare...

The unit offers second graders skills practice in tricky spelling and words, grammar—nouns and punctuation, reading decodable texts, and writing a personal narrative. Lessons begin with a warm-up and go into a concept review, word work,...

The memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is the focus of a unit designed for fourth graders. Scholars begin each lesson with a warm-up, then listen to a read-aloud of a section of the book. Pupils complete word work,...

The last unit in the series by Core Knowledge focuses on alternative spellings, nouns, verbs, conjunctions, subject-verb agreement, using commas in a series, constructing sentences, and following the writing process while writing...

Learners read "I Had a Hero" a memoir written by a Peace Corps volunteer serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They discuss the story, respond to it in writing, complete comprehension activities and relate the account to their own...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

Nine lessons over three weeks explore the human body through read-alouds. Third graders listen to and discuss a reading followed by extension activities, including word work and comprehension practice. Learners draft a narrative essay.

Join the newspaper business with a series of lessons and exercises focused on elements of journalism. The packet focuses on distinguishing fact from opinion, writing effective headlines, sequencing events, and editing and...

The concluding skills unit offers learning opportunities and reviews in preparation for assessments. Scholars participate in lessons that examine spelling patterns, prefixes, suffixes, pronouns, and adjectives, draft a letter, and listen...

Third graders write a thank-you note and a formal letter of request that included relevant information, such as a return address, date, inside address, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature. They write an imaginary letter to...

Fourth graders examine the English Language Arts Writer's Checklist. They practice prewriting techniques and use clustering as a prewriting technique. They follow specific rules in order to complete this lesson.

Fourth graders explore the writing process by responding to a writing prompt. They practice responding to a given writing prompt. Students write about a daydream. They write two or three paragraphs about the topic.