Students research the English Renaissance era. For this research lesson, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in groups to research...

Basic, yet effective! Use this persuasive essay graphic organizer in one of two ways: either use it during pre-writing stages, or distribute it during peer-editing. There are blanks provided to record the thesis statement, four...

Reading a dialect can be difficult; show readers that it can also reveal fascinating details! They read two extracts from Jane Gardam's The Hollow Land, which is written in a British dialect. Readers answer comprehension questions,...

The story of King Arthur is a fascinating one, and this retold excerpt offers an excellent example of narrative word choice in a dialogue. Learners read the text and examine the way the author uses synonyms for said. They write down...

With this New York Times "Learning Network" exercise, high schoolers read an article about the death of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and then respond to several prompts that require them to shape their own opinions...

Using a motivating topic as the focus, this activity has learners write an email as though they are describing their new house. English language learners read an example letter, and then practice their own writing skills by writing a...

Use a hot dog as a metaphor for good reading, and make your class drool! Writers identify the parts of a paragraph, linking them to parts of a hot dog. Then, they translate this knowledge into a well-written paragraph. While a check-list...

Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...

Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...

Pairs help each other with reading fluency using phrase flashcards! Learners take turns reading short phrases aloud. They have one minute to read as many correctly as possible while their partner sorts the cards into a yes or no pile. At...

Readers' theater is a fun way to get kids reading with expression and improve their fluency! There is a full script here for The Three Bears with five characters to assign.

Get energized by being organized! Budding business scholars construct professional letters in the seventh of nine career education and skills lessons. The resource covers proper greetings, writing requests, and explaining reasons for...

Writing funny poems is the best part about learning poetic forms! Young poets learn all about clerihews—humorous four-line poems about people—with an explanatory lesson.

Most teachers and scholars look for a way to simplify information. Informational how-to slides simplify the process of technical writing into a step-by-step process. Learners gather information on what to do, as well as what to avoid....

Continue work on the two-piece poem that compares two characters from Esperanza Rising. Give class members a few minutes to finish their drafts. After they have a complete product, model how to critique and edit the poems with one group....

Students write a persuasive essay that compares and contrasts a classic fairy tales with a fractured one. They use the writing process to complete and publish the essay.

Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one instructional activity intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read...

Help your young writers use logic in their persuasive writing. Discuss the characteristics of a persuasive paper, and have pupils work together to explore and solve a syllogism. They will write a short persuasive paper which includes a...

Examine the characteristics of an effective persuasive paper. In a group, eighth graders discuss the analogy of a debate being like a persuasive paper. After brainstorming topics, they write an argument and then debate it. Secretly, the...

Help primary school pupils learn valuable reading strategies. As they choral read a poster or big book, they predict covered words and learn various reading strategies for figuring out an unknown word. This will help them gain an...

This is my type of lesson! Learners read the poem, "The Deserted House" by Mary Coleridge, then complete a series of activities which encourage strong descriptive writing and sensory detail. They'll practice outlining, sentence writing,...

Whether your first graders can read or not, they will enjoy this comprehension activity. They read or listen to an excerpt from a Winnie-the-Pooh story, they predict what will happen next, then draw Pooh Bear's favorite food. A compare...

Here are three well-thought-out tasks intended to build good note taking and letter writing skills. The class reads three short letters, determines who wrote them (based on context) and takes notes as a pre-writing activity. They...

Use some of these 80-word passages to practice reading fluency with your beginners. Project the text so all learners can see it, pointing to each word as scholars recite them one at a time. Warn readers of irregularly spelled words by...