Fourth graders focus on fluency by reading the book Charlotte's Web. In this reading strategies lesson, 4th graders partner read, do guided reading, and independent reading to increase fluency. Students use Venn Diagrams, discuss...

Discuss the history of slavery by analyzing historic photography depicting slavery. Learners write fictional stories based on these photographs. This is a creative and motivating way to launch a discussion of these topics. 

In these English lesson plans, students use video, the Internet and non-fiction essays to research the history of the English language. They write a short research paper and design a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their findings.

First graders recognize and write numerals from 1 to 10. They estimate and count to identify sets with more, fewer, or the same number of objects, listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts, and take turns speaking in a...

Although this lesson plan covers the rather obscure topic of the Japanese "I-novel", it also includes a great deal of historical information and material for an in-depth discussion of universal literary concepts. Specifically, young...

Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

Ninth graders identify and recognize characteristics of nonfiction in literary works, explore language and culture of Gullah people, compare and contrast purposes of spirituals and quilts in terms of their relationships to escape from...

Students examine Rembrandt's self-portraits and discuss important events in his life. They also examine "Aristotle with the Bust of Homer" and try to identify with the person in the paining, predicting what his life might have been like....

Third graders go through the writing process but substitute paper and pencil with the computer to create a story about "The Time I Got Lost".

Students create advertisements for a weather instrument. They conduct Internet research, write a descriptive and persuasive advertisement for the instrument using the flyer template of desktop publishing software, and print a copy that...

Students study the solar system and our galaxy, then write a science fiction story based on what they discover. They utilize worksheets and access websites imbedded in this plan to gain ideas for their stories.

Students read and write a short story. In this short story lesson plan, students read a short story and answer comprehension questions on it that teaches them about the world around them. Then they write a short story to teach...

Eighth graders use creatures created from their imaginations to practice hyperbole, simile, metaphor, and alliteration in association with creative writing. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to guide their writing.

Fourth graders share a previously written portfolio piece and the class guesses the genre. Students use tally marks to keep track of how many of each piece there are in class. Once the data collection is complete, 4th graders create a...

Students interact with the main concepts of a narrative text in the six lessons of this unit. The setting, prediction, retelling, sequencing, and the identification of the beggining, middle and end of a story are investigated.

In this writing worksheet, students learn the essentials about how to write a newspaper article in journalistic style. Students read about style, headlines, bylines, first, middle and ending paragraphs. After reading this, students will...

Fourth graders create fictional stories and demonstrate the use of various writing techniques. After selecting their main ideas, they find appropriate graphics to use as illustrations. In groups, 4th graders apply Hyperstudio in...

Students consider a variety of well-known proverbs that refer to the weather. They research the scientific validity of these proverbs, conduct interviews about public perception of the proverbs and summarize their findings in writing.

Fifth graders utilize the library in order to find the answers to three questions about The Revolutionary War. In this writing and library skills lesson, 5th graders pretend they are a Spy, and write the answers in a fictional letter to...

Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable.  Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...

This, the sixth in a series of 10 related resources, examines the life and works of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American author, born in 1825, who advocated literacy for both free and enslaved African Americans.

Students examine the difference between a narrator and author. They read Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 'The Scarlet Letter,' write a description of the narrator, and research how Hawthorne was impacted by the politics of the time.

Pupils research the evolution of cultural and social issues in areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They practice writing clear details with supporting evidence and examples and evaluate ways of improving drafts...

Pupils explore how different holiday traditions are celebrated around the world. Scholars write a paper describing how they celebrate their own favorite holiday. Email partners, from different states and countries, share their...