Learn about Mexican culture while simultaneously strengthening reading, writing and computer skills. In order to get the most out of Esperanza Rising, pupils should have prior knowledge of Mexican culture. Therefore, there are links to a...

After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.

When is a staple remover a fanged monster? In your ELA classroom when you're teaching this fun figurative language lesson, of course! Get your young writers using figurative language by making a game of it. Give groups a paper bag full...

Using a variety of multi-media resources, your high schoolers become familiar with the parts of plant and create a story about plants using vocabulary learned during their research of plants. Completed stories are published using the...

Provide pupils samples of different types of poems including haikus, narrative, nonsense, shape, and rhyming poems. In groups, class members read the poems, establish their general meaning, identify poetic devices, and rate the poems,...

Get mathematicians engaged with number terminology using this puzzle activity! Learners determine the selected number from a hundred board by eliminating numbers using clues. As a group, each learner has a specific role, outlined in the...

Middle schoolers develop strategies for what to do when they come upon words in a text that they don't know. After a class discussion, pupils are given a selection of text that contains some very difficult words. They are instructed to...

Foot, bus, bicycle, boat. Transport and travel words are targeted in this plan designed for ESL/ELD classes. The packet is packed with practice exercises and performance prompts.

Provide your class with an opportunity to investigate an important historical document. Without identifying the document, distribute copies of the original Bill of Rights, as transcribed by John Beckley, Clerk of the House of...

What does your class know about the 1960s? Introduce your unit on S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders with a K-W-H-L chart, which encourages kids to list what they already know about the time period, what they would like to know, how they...

Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their...

Explore the life and painting style of African-American artist Horace Pippin by looking carefully at its parts, then create a "secret number" painting for a classroom counting book.

Revising, as opposed to editing, is the focus of a presentation that details this essential part of the writing process. The author of this PowerPoint suggests outlining the draft to determine if all the necessary elements are included...

How do you create (and punctuate) really good dialogue so that it moves your story forward and provides strong characterization? Use this literary worksheet loaded with examples, clearly stated directions, and fun exercises.  Fifth...

Want to safeguard your students against peer pressure? Teach them all about rhetorical appeals, common attack methods, and various argument tones with a reference sheet on persuasive techniques.

Young scholars survey people to find out what roller coasters they like, conduct Internet research to find information on dangers in amusement parks, contact experts on subject, and write feature that shows pros and cons of coasters.

You can do it! Practice action verbs and using can for ability with a series of activities designed for English learners. Kids jump, stomp, and turn as they discuss the things they can and can't do.

To generate interest in Tuesdays with Morrie, class members respond to an anticipation guide that highlights many of the major issues address by Mitch Albom's story.

Students categorize information into a problem/solving chart and examine the value of using a diary. In this problem solving and diary lesson, students read portions of Dear Mr. Henshaw, while they investigate the importance of keeping a...

Post-It notes, highlighting, underlining. Sam Anderson’s New York Times Magazine article, “What I Really Want Is Someone Rolling Around in the Text,” launches a study of “marginalia,” or writing thoughts in the margins of a text. After...

Walk your pupils through the beginning of My Antonia by Willa Cather with a read-aloud-style activity. The goal is to make predictions and back them up with textual evidence.

Provide third and fourth graders with a persuasive writing example and this checklist. Have learners read through the persuasive writing example to find the characteristics included in the checklist. Is the passage a good example?...

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is a writing project for which participants write an entire novel in a single month. If you have decided to this in your class, this resource will be useful for you. This is an editing...

Begin your discussion about Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility before you even open the book. Kids fill in a worksheet that lists five statements about the literary themes of the novel, and then discuss their opinions as a...