One way to assess improvement in writing is to conduct a district-wide assessment program. This resource details the Wisconsin Dells approach to assessing freshmen 6+1 Traits writing. The format could be adapted to any district or used...

The teacher doesn't always have to be the expert in the classroom. The first in a series of three supplementary activities Nature: Friend or Foe uses hands-on research tasks and projects to enhance readers' understanding of non-fiction...

"How are belief systems represented and reproduced through nature?" This essential question guides lesson 6 of this unit on The Odyssey (the rest of the unit is linked). Students first write about a scenario in which they are...

Looking for a good social media instructional activity for your class? Then, this instructional activity is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book,...

Students search for and read articles about the initial United States strike on Afghanistan from non-U.S. news sources, then describe the journalists' perspectives and reflect on how difficult it might be to maintain an objective wartime...

Although the article that launches this activity is about the history of the Periodic Table, the objective is reading comprehension. Using the eight-page informational text, learners answer five comprehension questions and craft one...

In this numbers worksheet, students practice recognizing numbers 6-10. Students paint the numbers 6-10 with the specific colors listed next to each number.

Students discuss the idea of 6 word memoirs. In this technology activity, students explore how using a small number of words sometimes is the best. Students practice using 6 word memoirs writing six words for various nursery rhymes and...

Students complete activities with the book Sarah Plain and Tall. In this literature activity, students read, discuss, and review vocabulary from Chapter 6. They make a list of quotations and review how to use quotation marks. 

The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...

Using this lesson on blogs, you can lead your class through the process of setting up a blog, writing a blog entry, editing their work, and more. There is a link to the blog site used, and attachments of blog entries.

Simplify first grade Common Core writing standards with this series of printable I can statements. A great tool for providing young writers with clear learning objectives.

Completing each word is the objective of this vocabulary activity. Learners use a word bank, a definition, and a given word root to figure out the rest of the letters in 12 given words. This is an online, interactive activity with...

Kids who need extra support with the concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit entitled "Talent Show," will benefit from the exercises and activities found in this 32-page packet.

Class members will dig this activity that has them trying their hand at recovering artifacts. Groups are assigned a section of a sandbox, carefully uncover the artifacts in their section, and then develop theories about who might...

November is National Novel Writing Month, so if your young authors are embarking on this journey, be sure they understand plot elements. This collaborative lesson fits into the context of the larger NaNoWriMo project; however, the ideas...

A 55-page unit examines the novel, The BFG, by Roald Dahl. Six lessons pay close attention to friendship, dreams, and believing themes while analyzing interesting characters, writing creative vocabulary, smilies, metaphors, an exciting...

Aspiring journalists learn about media literacy, journalism, and the press. Units come complete with handouts, assignment rubrics, notes, and extension suggestions. Each unit also comes with a list of vocabulary words and learning...

“There is no story that is not true, . . .” And uncovering the truths in Things Fall Apart is the focus of a 68-page resource packet designed to provide instructors with a wealth of materials that enhance understanding of Chinua Achebe’s...

Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...

Students use their creativity to build character homes. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop creative-thinking, social, language, math, and motor skills as they work together to create buildings for characters from...

A thorough lesson plan takes your first grade class through Jane Yolen's beautiful Owl Moon. It crafts the unit with clear objectives, high-level guiding questions, cloze activities and sentence frames, and extension...

Engage families in at-home practice using this 100-page worksheet packet for elementary school English Language Arts practice. Each worksheet briefly explains the objective to parents so they can guide their child through the...

Here is a phenomenal language arts lesson on media literacy for your middle and high schoolers. In it, learners produce a research product in the form of a public service announcement (PSA). First, they view examples of these PSA's to...