Young writers craft the story of a special summer day, detailing the event and why the day was so memorable.

Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-lesson for a unit on Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon uses a RAFT activity, which prompts students to write a letter to Charlie's doctors explaining why they...

They always say to write what you know. This approach is used to get middle schoolers prepared to write novels of their own. Using a favorite book as a model, potential novelists respond to prompts that ask about characters, plot, main...

Story chains connect literary concepts, reinforce context clues, and even help learners predict what's coming next! Using words from the next chapter of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, middle schoolers craft story chains to...

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

Scholars evaluate E.B. White's tone in his narrative. Lessons use turn-and-talk strategies to discuss details of a personal narrative essay, respond to guided questions, and work in pairs to analyze word choice. Learners demonstrate...

There's more to music than a memorable tune. The songs of those who were enslaved reveal the harsh realities of their lives. Using both songs and slave narratives, historians uncover this hidden history. The lesson incorporates a variety...

After viewing The Last Roundup, a documentary that examines the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately owned island to a National Park, class members adopt the point of view of Tim Vail, a member of the family that once owned the...

"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...

High schoolers read the final section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig and examine the impact of the words and tone he used. In pairs, learners discuss their homework from the previous night, answer questions about the text, and write in...

During the time of slavery, resistance was a way of life for the men and women held in bondage. Using music as evidence of their fight against oppression, learners explore how enslaved people fought back. Writing prompts round out the...

Chapter 10 of Malcolm X's Autobiography introduces readers to Elijah Muhammad's teachings. Discussion questions focusing on syntax and diction draw attention to how Malcolm X's perspective on Mr. Muhammad changes.

Using questions they developed, class groups discuss Chapter 2 of Malcolm X's autobiography, focusing on the individuals and events Malcolm X feels contributed to his character development.

Readers of The Autobiography of Malcolm X examine how Haley's word choice and point of view in chapter 5 reveal Malcolm X's attitude toward his behavior as he travels from Lansing to Harlem.

“What do you think life is like at the South Pole?” After responding to this journal prompt, class members read and discuss the New York Times article, “At South Pole, New Home for a New Era.” Using resources available from the Times’...

Extend learning through summer with these activity ideas! Individuals can choose one or all nine of the activities, which range from a summer reading goal to an examination of local insects (with accompanying story prompt). See the...

As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...

Rudyard Kipling's advice to his son in the poem "If" is a resounding message that echoes through generations. After reading the famous poem, middle schoolers work on analyzing specific lines, completing activities based on...

Students survey Neoclassical art and create a narrative based on their analyses. Focused questions and relevant background information provided by the Getty Museum provides a great foundation for students to understand art techniques as...

For this language arts activity, learners write a story using an illustrated word bank with nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

How well do your learners really know the characters in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising? A biopoem activity prompts readers to investigate the characters and their traits. Line by line, writers add the characters'...

Young writers get a jump start on story telling by selecting a plot, a setting, and multiple character cards and then use these basic elements to create a tale.

Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...