Hear ye, hear ye, it's time for a writer's roundtable! Scholars clarify their thinking about their narrative writing project by engaging in a fishbowl discussion about their plans. As members within the inner circle discuss the topic,...

Class members continue analyzing text excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. They read and draw conclusions to determine Douglass's view on slavery. Learners finish by discussing with partners how the excerpts...

To learn more about Frederick Douglass, class members complete close reads of excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. They complete a close reading guide and questions for each excerpt. Pupils then add to the...

Writers have 30 minutes to add the final touches to their end-of-unit assessments for Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Those finishing early review their work. After the 30 minutes, learners use the time to review their...

How is a sentence like the human body? Scholars think about the comparison as they view an image of the human anatomy and begin to complete an Anatomy of a Sentence anchor chart. They review roots, prefixes, and suffixes and then begin...

The power of a word. Readers learn the importance of word choice in shaping a text by using a Powerful Language T-chart to separate strong words and phrases from those that are more bland. They then complete a third read and question set...

Readers have the opportunity to bring the words from an excerpt of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to life. They use strategies from the Storyteller’s Toolbox anchor chart as a guide and then work in pairs to prepare...

Make a match! Scholars play a matching game after looking at excerpt five from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Learners match types of figurative language with example sentences, and add to their powerful language word wall...

Writers work on creating a plan for their end-of-unit essay of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass using a Frederick Douglass Essay Planner to help guide their thought process. They then regroup as a class to...

Let's focus. In small groups, writers narrow text selections to produce a narrative script based on the novel Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan. Next, pupils plan their reader's theater scripts based on the text.

Read a narrative describing various types of trade restrictions, and then engage in a debate about a new tariff. Critical thinkers will evaluate arguments to determine who benefits and who is hurt by the new tariff. Consider assigning...

Is the wolf from "The Three Little Pigs" really big and bad, or is he just misunderstood?  To analyze the effect of point of view, middle schoolers read Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and evaluate the...

Practice using the Turn the Question Around (TQA) method to answer reading comprehension questions based on short narrative paragraphs. Instructions and materials are included for direct, guided, and independent instruction. Responses...

Students examine plot and setting of Cinderella, and how it changes as it is translated into different cultures, discuss universal literary elements of the Cinderella story, and write narratives with original settings and plots...

Look at life from a bug's perspective, and create a wonderful image based on what you think it sees. Learners use the crayon resist painting technique to draw and paint and picture of a bug's world from its point of view. Tip: This would...

Tropical fish are a great subject for any art project, they are colorful, interesting, and can go along with under water themed stories read in class, learner written narratives, or Marine Biology units. This set of instructions will...

Learners research the French-Canadian influence in northern New York. They interview families of French-Canadian descent, research immigration history, visit a French restaurant, write narratives about their experiences interviewing...

Students conduct research on a German anti-Nazi group named "Die Weisse Rose", the White Rose, that eventually lost their lives for their resistance to Nazi rule. They view films, access the Internet, prepare responsive narratives to the...

High schoolers read and discuss a selection of news clippings, sermons, and narratives that depict the continued struggle for equality and mistreatment of African American citizens. They present a "60 Minutes"-style news program with the...

Students read historic or contemporary fiction that is set in and around castles. Then they build castles and characters to use in retelling stories, demonstrating their understanding of fiction texts and period architecture. Students...

Learners work on a K-W-L chart about electrical storms, lightening, and thunder. They discuss how meteorologists forecast storms and research their answers which are shared in a whole class setting. Using art supplies, they draw dwelling...

Have the kids choose a fairy tale and read it independently. Then model writing a conclusion for a narrative piece. They create storyboards based on the chosen plot, then write a new conclusion.

Cultural discourse can start through a variety of venues. Learners begin to think about how our minds, memories, and identities shape our attitudes toward culture and history. They analyze seven pieces from the Dongducheon art exhibit...

Portraiture, artistic expression, romanticism, and androgyny are discussed in a thought-provoking instructional activity. Upper graders first discuss and examine the history of portraiture and the elements common to the Romantic style....