There is no such thing as someone who is not artistic when using this app. In fact, this is the type of app that makes you want to go out and buy a tablet computer. Whether you have a creative lesson planned, or just need a place to take...

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education students, this resource provides reading...

Students take a closer look at the organization of written pieces. In this writing skills lesson plan, students examine transitions, repetition, parallelism, and other organizational patterns in writing. 

Students organize, write, and edit essays. They utilize graphic organizer software, and write and edit the essay using word prediction and spell checking software.

Although unlikely in today's English classroom, this lesson focuses on introducing research papers to seniors in high school. It briefly reviews the parts of an essay, and mentions showing learners example essays, but no examples are...

In this data collection worksheet, students read the word problem and study the tally chart about favorite sports. Students then use the information in the chart to answer the questions. Students then use the list about students'...

In this data activity, students convert measurements to significant notation and determine the number of significant digits. This activity has 4 fill in the blank and 2 short answer questions.

Fifth graders gather facts about the circulatory system and write an essay.  In this circulatory system writing activity, 5th graders read their science book and take notes.  Students organize their notes and write and outline...

Fourth graders use a four-square graphic organizer to plan a paragraph writing about a wheelwright. Using gathered research from the previous unit, young writers discover how to organize a plot in preparation for writing a historical...

The class discusses the different purposes an author has for writing. The focus of the discussion is on writing to tell a true story and writing to give information about a specific topic. There are writing purpose sorting cards embedded...

Grab a debatable (or controversial) moment from your current reading, and use this task to progress the persuasive writing skills of your high school scholars. Divide your learners into four small groups and let them collaborate, debate,...

Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this lesson, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story, receive different...

Young writers use the four-square graphic organizer to draft their historical fiction narratives' first, second, third, and fourth paragraphs on the wheelwright. The instructional activity promotes discussion and modeling of what makes a...

Scholars reflect upon their reading strengths and challenges to create personal reading goals. Participants use goal-setting verbiage in an accordion-style graphic organizer, a first step in writing a letter that details their reading...

Do you know what the plan is? Scholars are now ready to complete the final instructional activity of independent research before finalizing their plans. Ultimately, they turn in all research tool sheets and frames and organize their...

Poems carved into the wooden walls of the Asian immigrant prisons on Angel Island provide upper elementary graders an opportunity to study not only the story behind the poems but to also focus on the figurative language employed by the...

Time is of the essence. Pupils spend time completing the first draft of their essays based on Katherine Paterson's novel Lyddie. Using everything they've learned throughout the unit, they craft their arguments about whether Lyddie...

This is just the transition phase. Scholars participate in a mini lesson about using transitions in writing. They then have a brief peer critique of the introduction and conclusion paragraphs for their end of unit assessment. Learners...

Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....

Words matter, particularly in academic writing. Issues such as vague language, wordiness, and cliches make it difficult to get a point across. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, the handout on word choice shows writers...

The intricate craft of narrative writing can make a happy story feel exuberant or a sad story feel devastating. With 42 extensive lessons that include poignant discussion questions, standards-aligned self-reflections, engaging writing...

Help your young writers produce high-quality topic and thesis statements that go beyond basic wording and really illustrate complex ideas and critical thinking skills. From however and compound sentence statements to using...