Students explore language arts by participating in a vocabulary usage activity. In this word choice lesson, students read examples of great word usage in literature and discuss with the class why some words appear stronger than others....

Students interview a subject and write a biographical sketch for a fictional magazine. In this interview lesson, students choose a person to interview and create two sets of questions. Students conduct the interview. Students then write...

A study of Alfred Noyes's poem "The Highwayman" opens a lesson about narrative poetry. Scholars read the poem and compare it to the animated video version using a worksheet. Learners look at models and use a template to craft an "I Am"...

Students 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...

Analyze characterization in literature. Readers use "Three Shots," from The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway and complete classroom activities that require them to apply literary analysis techniques. They write their own short...

A reading of Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia launches a study of idioms. Groups then select several idioms, write the meaning of the expressions, draw or select images, and use GIMP or Photoshop to create an idiom book. 

What would change in your daily life due to a power outage? Here, learners explore the inventions brought to us by the one and only, Thomas Edison, and imagine a day without them. Scholars take part in a grand conversation and write a...

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...

Here’s a reading strategy that can be used with any text. Class members examine portions of a novel, and make predictions about the theme or subject matter of the book. Although designed for Christopher Paul Curtis’s Newbery Medal...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater...

Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...

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...

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 analyze the art of movement and photographic techniques. In this art analysis lesson, students explore artistic techniques for communicating motion. Students complete image based discussion. Students make two drawings that...

Students review research skills and discuss types of information, e.g. fact/opinion, examples/evidence then research and gather information to answer a given set of research questions. They write a multi paragraph report using the...

Students compose a piece of poetry modeled after the poetry of Carl Sandburg and share their poem(s) with their colleagues. They use a cluster diagram to organize their thoughts and brainstorm their ideas.

Ninth graders take note of the ways in which word choice, rhythm, language and narrative voice, as well as point of view in a poem can be used to evoke a time and place. They use their insights to create a poem of their own.

Sixth graders explore strategies authors use to make characters and setting seem real to readers. They develop characters and describe setting in original narratives. Students read myths and determine common themes found in myths from...

Students create a memoir. They compare writing with story telling and personal experience. They analyze how they learn, so they can begin to look critically at their own learning.

Ninth graders study different types of propaganda and select an issue that is significant to them.  In this exploratory lesson students design and create posters on the topic of their choice and write a narrative describing it. 

Young scholars explore acrostic poems. In this interactive poetry lesson, students visit the ReadWriteThink.org website to view characteristics and samples of acrostic poems. Young scholars develop acrostic poems by using the interactive...

Sixth graders identify personal strengths and the importance of highlighting their talents when writing a resume. They write a reflection narrative on "Cool Stuff I Can Do." They generate the information for the narrative from class...

Students use an object to tell an interesting story from their lives. They write and present a short story about an interesting episode from their life and gather objects in a story bag, which illustrates their story to the class.

Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...