Students write a narrative story about the Lewis and Clarke Expedition. In this narrative writing lesson, students write a narrative story including themselves in the expedition. Students include aspects of narrative story writing,...

Teach your young readers how to summarize a text using a strategy called Somebody Wanted But So. Kids identify the character (Somebody), the motivation (Wanted), the conflict (But), and the resolution (So). The resource comes with...

How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach,...

Every teacher should keep this document handy when it comes time to writing report cards. It includes a plethora of ideas to look to for inspiration when commenting on student strengths and areas of...

Katherine Paterson’s young adult novel Lyddie is the foundation of a differentiated instruction unit that not only explores the rise of industrialization and labor but women’s rights issues as well. After learners read the novel, they...

Young scholars use examples of narrative and expository text to analyze and compare the two styles. Students read articles on life in Lesotho and Madagascar and use graphic organizers and discussion to compare them. Young scholars write...

Students create books about their favorite animals using graphic organizers.

Students read and discuss a film review of the animated movie Antz and then write a monologue from the perspective of a non-human organism.

Students create an ocean haiku. In this haiku instructional activity, students use their five senses to write a haiku. Students watch videos about the ocean, make a sensory portrait, and create a class haiku.

In this creative writing worksheet, students answer a series of questions about an alien they imagine. There are also other pre-writing exercises about historical figures, monuments, a zoo, and other topics designed to aid in the...

Students create holiday story while working in cooperative learning groups, using Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express as a writing prompt.

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...

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

Track your class's progress on all of the ELA Common Core standards with these handy charts. Along the left side, each seventh grade identifier is listed along with the full text of the standard. As you teach, reteach, assess,...

Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...

How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...

Students examine the narrative forms and tales unique to the U.S.-Mexico border. They discuss the possible sociological meanings of these stories, and then write their own versions to demonstrate that they explain the forms.

Students design Career Character Poster, research occupations of interest, write about their future career choices, and present a first-person narrative about their chosen occupation.

Students investigate storytelling by creating their own dialogue. In this writing development lesson plan, students read the story Jeremy Thatch, Dragon Hatcher in class and discuss their own magical object they wish to write a story...

Students interview staff members at their elementary school in order to get to know them better. They write interview questions, conduct an interview, write a paragraph about the staff member, and take digital pictures of that person....

Students practice framing issues. In this writing skills lesson, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to look at specific topical issues by framing them. Students then create collages on current issues and...

Seventh graders examine the importance of being organized when making transitions. In this organization instructional activity, 7th graders watch a teacher demonstration of entering a room in a disorganized manner before discussing how...

This Veterans Day inspire scholars to say thank you to a veteran. Here, learners discover key details about a specific war using an interactive timeline, and then write a thank you letter offering their gratitude to someone who risked...