Get a glimpse of Anne Frank's years in hiding with this activity, which introduces The Diary of Anne Frank. Readers complete a journal entry about how they would keep themselves occupied if they were forced into hiding (without personal...

The story Franklin's New Friend contains three tier-two vocabulary words! Your class reads the story, identifies the vocabulary words, and then works to construct their meanings. The new words are recorded either in a journal entry...

Challenge your class with this instructional activity focusing on the fifty states. Learners use ArcMap to show the route the main character in the story Journey of Oliver K. Woodman took across the United States. Then, they...

An interesting and unusual topic for a news article, this resource from the New York Times website asks learners to take a moment and consider all the things they notice during a typical day. Based of the editorial piece "Things I...

Inspire your class to write about role models and personal heroes with this resource from The Learning Network. Class members read a New York Times article excerpt about basketball star Jeremy Lin and how he inspired the author. After...

This online resource is composed of a writing sample about teacher appreciation and a writing prompt for learners. You could use this as an in-class journal activity or you could have class members post their responses on the New...

Shake it up! Shake your tablet to bring up a unique writing prompt for journaling or blogging with your class. Shake again and a new one appears. Prompts can come from different categories (sketches, scenes, texts, words, news) to help...

Add a strong poetry activity to your literature unit. Middle and high schoolers investigate their writing voices with journaling and group discussion, then choose a famous poet to study. They write letters to their chosen poets,...

Although the lesson is specifically about the San Francisco Bay area, it's good enough to be adapted to any local region. Children research what the landscape in San Francisco was like prior to settlement, they consider the types of...

To celebrate National Poetry Month, young writers focus on the role letter writing has played in the development of poets. They begin by journaling three to five associations to a writing prompt that requires them to identify their...

Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...

An excellent lesson plan on the classic book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Learners view the W. Wilson Rawls website and engage in a series of activities generated by the website. They write in their reflective journals, watch a video, and...

Ask your young researchers to create a state brochure by working together to research Alaska and then use facts they have learned from the novel Woodsong to create a travel brochure about Alaska. Pupils must include a bibliography and...

Students creatively utilize a word processor in order to do daily journal writing. They explore with using simple, compound, and complex sentences in order to present ideas with clarity and precision. They gain computer skills while...

Students complete Dossier handouts that define qualities of fictional journal characters, and then write journal entries with specific grammar requirements, while assuming identity of fictional adults.

Sixth graders examine character traits. In this character education lesson plan, 6th graders set goals to strengthen particular personal character traits. Students watch their instructor model the character trait journaling strategy...

Poetry Soup, a reading and writing unit constructed by the Petrified Forest National Park, will have scholars hungry to learn about nature. The cross-content unit contains topics related to history, science, and language arts. Content...

Readers of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner assume the voice of one of the characters from the novel and draft eight reflective journal entries and a one-page collage that depicts the character's interests, personal beliefs, etc.

Students study the life experiences of people who lived in colonial Boston prior to the American Revolution. They define key terms including Loyalist and Patriot. They write a journal entry as Nathaniel Hurd, a silversmith.

Fifth graders read a book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder to examine the hardships that were endured by pioneers traveling during the Westward Expansion of the US. They predict, summarize and participate in literature circles. They visit...

Tenth graders complete a brief journal entry explaining what they would do with one million dollars. They read and discuss "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. Students finish reading Act I of A Raisin In The Sun and identify the...

Eleventh graders explore the events of the  Holocaust.  In this cross curriculum lesson, 11th graders examine the differences between prejudice and discrimination.  Students read various forms of literature and write...

Young learners explore what it means to be respectful. This resource includes a two page chart depicting rules for different settings at school such, as the cafeteria and the playground. What does following the rules look like? What does...

Third graders write a one page paper about what they would like to purchase given the savings techniques. They write down what the object is that they are going to buy, how they are going to earn money to purchase this object, and what...