Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...

Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, young scholars split into pairs to discuss...

What would it be like to sell your eggs to a couple who can't have children on their own? Could you even imagine it? As most of us have never been in this position, this descriptive essay is really quite interesting. The reading itself...

Students read a multicultural book called "This Is the Way We Go to School" by Edith Baer and Steve Bjorhman. They become culturally aware of the different nationalities around the world and different ways that they may do things on a...

Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is...

Incorporate technology into a literature lesson with an innovative language arts lesson. Middle schoolers read an electronic version of original stories or fairy tales, and after determining the point of view, rewrite the tale from...

Students examine the relationship of man and nature in "To Build a Fire" and discuss the juxtaposition of knowledge and instinct. They investigate third person, omniscient point of view.

Students analyze their feelings after reading or listening to music. In this moods lesson, students react to the feelings generated by the story or music they heard. Students pair edit their stories.

Fifth graders enjoy learning more about animals and their habitats as they explore the Internet sites in these Student Activities based on the main characters in Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH.

Students listen to The Trouble With Trolls and discuss fables.  In this story elements lesson, students work on reading skills.  Students participate in different reading activities.

Third graders develop an appreciate for the various cultures that are present in their local community. Through reading and research, they explain how various culture came to live in their area. At the conclusion of the unit, 3rd...

Students demonstrate how to retell a story in sequential order. In this reading comprehension lesson, students listen to a suggested read aloud, such as Little Boy Blue. Additionally, students practice retelling the story by using...

Fifth graders study how to read fluently. For this reading lesson, 5th graders practice reading and recording any miscues. Students time each other and graph their progress each day.

Sixth graders examine the research that archaeologists have done on a Late Bronze Age shipwreck in order to work out the extent of trade in the Eastern Mediterranean during this period, with emphasis on the involvement of the Mycenaeans...

Fifth graders create their own solar panel. They use this experiment to see how the sun can be used as a form of energy.

Young scholars examine Nathaniel Hawthorne's style of humor and compare it to other humorists. They discuss the purpose of literary humor and determine how it develops characters and plots in stories. They analyze the use of different...

In this literature activity, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about Richter's A Light in the Forest. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Young scholars learn to use a one-main idea Think-sheet for producing a narrative paragraph. [Requires Adobe Reader.]

Students will plan a paragraph that states their opinion and cites evidence to justify their opinion about an informational text. This lesson uses biographies since students can easily be able to write down factual information from the...

This Daily Teaching Tools collection provides graphic organizers for writing. Elaborate graphic organizers for the following areas are provided: persuasive essays, expository essays, paragraph writing, fiction pieces, narrative writing,...

Need help with doing a descriptive paper or personal narrative? Need a writing lesson plan? Meet Virginia Hamilton and follow her step-by-step guide to writing. When done, you are eligible for a certificate signed by this author.

Inspired by the vignettes of Sandra Cisneros, learners will write about a familiar thing from their lives. Students will use the style of prose poetry to describe something familiar around their home, school or neighborhood. The final...

Inspired by the interactive plot ideas here, writers will create an original three-paragraph adventure story. First, each writer will create an original adventurer. Next, each writer will place the adventurer in a brief, organized...

Contains plans for a minilesson that teaches about proper dialogue format while writing, specifically paragraphing. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as...