Young scholars write rhyming poems using rebus. With pictures instead of words, authors create original work about things they love. 

High schoolers analyze mood and voice in Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's a Certain Slant of Light." After the analysis, students write a poem of their own emulating the Dickinson poem, and then write a one-page essay describing what...

Lies, deceit, betrayal, criminality: these topics are just a few of the reasons that John Steinbeck's classic novel The Grapes of Wrath has captivated people since its 1939 publication. Scholars begin the lesson by reading...

Excuse me, can you give me directions? Scholars examine and practice technical writing to increase their ability to write directions. They participate in discussion, watch videos, and complete an assignment to create their own directions.

If you like poetry, wait till you try backward poetry! Young writers read Shel Silverstein's "Backward Bill" before writing their own funny poems that are full of backward imagery and phrasing.

Here is a handout that outlines six great steps to structuring an argumentative essay, which can be continually referenced as you teach your class about persuasive writing.

When explorers set out to discover the world, they opened the world economy through global trade. Read, then use this expository writing instructional activity to answer three critical thinking questions. Each question relates to the...

Expository writing is a vital skill for learners to acquire. They answer three short essay questions on the colonization of Africa, based on Imperialist ideology. Use after or during reading to boost informational comprehension and...

Use this learning exercise to check for understanding after your class reads materials related to Europe in the Middle Ages. There are three questions that ask them to describe Charlemagne as a prominent historical figure, the feudal...

Three questions in need of well-written answers await your budding historians. They put their reading comprehension to the test when they describe how the Crusades impacted Italian city-states, why kings like Richard the Lion-Hearted...

For use alongside a complete lesson or as guided reading questions, this instructional activity provides three short-answer questions for consideration. Learners consider why the Tang Dynasty was considered a golden age, the role women...

Consider the factors and outcomes of societal changes that occurred during the Japanese Feudal period. Critical thinkers use what they know to answer three short essay questions. This helpful worksheet is a great tool for building...

Did your class finish reading about Feudal Japan and the Tokugawa Shogunate period? Reinforce their understanding with three essay questions focused on comprehension and critical thinking.

Kids see, say, then count the phonemes they hear in a series of simple words. They practice counting phonemes with the teacher, then sound out the same word on their own. As they count each phoneme they write it down on their paper. A...

What happens when I add an 'e' to the word mad? It becomes made! Decoding and writing words with the silent e is the activity for today. The class discusses what the e can do to a cvc word, then they practice adding e's to various words...

Sounding out individual phonemes and blending them to make a word is usually one of the first tasks mastered when learning to read. Make master decoders out of your learners, they sound out a series of simple two and three-letter cvc...

Practice sounding out multi-syllable words with this scaffolded lesson. Learners decode words by segmenting them into phonemes and combining the sounds. Your lines are in bold here, but you can easily use this simply as an outline...

Pupils study place value. Students participate in place value and number relay games, write numbers in words, and discuss how numbers are read. As a class, they discuss the meaning of less than and grater than signs. Pupils use inverse...

Reading often times starts with phonemic awareness and letter sound correspondence. Get little ones blending those letter sounds together to read and write simple words. As the teacher sounds out each word, learners count phonemes, and...

Learners use reading, math, and writing skills to complete this activity in which they make chocolate chip cookies. This lesson seeks to tie real-life skills to classroom learning to make curriculum more meaningful. While this activity...

Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...

Intended for an intermediate/advance ELD course, this resource can support anyone learning the techniques and discernment needed for effective persuasive/argumentative writing. Beginning with the issue of curfews for a quick class...

Although rarely used these days, letter writing is still a form of writing reviewed in schools. After examining written letters, middle schoolers discuss characteristics of a formal letter and its parts. They choose a famous person to...

A field trip to the library begins this lesson where children select their own books to practice fluent silent reading. They then practice their writing by creating a new ending to the story they chose before receiving a mini-lesson on...