How do your pupils believe others see them? Invite them to write narratives to explore the image they present to the word. The narratives, inspired by The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, are to be set at each pupil's hypothetical funeral.

Young scholars read a brief text detailing a conversation between two children about building a snowman, then show what they know by way of four reading comprehension questions.  

With the increasing emphasis on persuasive and argumentative writing, the lessons and strategies in the sample unit are sure to prove valuable—whether you are new to or an experienced pro at teaching persuasive reading and writing.

Here is a lesson that incorporates music writing, and reading literature. The class reads chapter eight from the C.S. Lewis classic The Magician's Nephew. Then, just like in the story, they use music as inspiration to create (write)...

Reading comprehension improves when you can use context clues to define unfamiliar words. Help your kids practice using context clues with a worksheet that provides space for seven sentences with new words, as well as a place for kids to...

Anchors aweigh, it's time to write! After viewing an anchor chart detailing the parts of a position paper, pupils share their plans for their essays with a partner. Next, they write the rough draft of their body paragraphs. 

Challenge your class to connect to the text of "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros with this activity, which prompts them to write a personal letter from the main character's point of view. The story, prompt, and letter template are all included...

To generate interest in and enable readers to connect to The Things They Carried, class members write about what they carry—both tangible and intangible things. The class then makes a list of these things and compares the list to...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

What do police and detectives do to keep their community safe? Six short-answer questions make up a worksheet designed to reinforce reading comprehensions skills while providing information about police officers and detectives.  

Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem. 

It's important that writers leave their readers with a strong and satisfying conclusion. Help your young writers develop the skills to compose a concluding sentence with the steps outlined here. After class members have had a chance to...

There are three spinners to use in this phonic activity. Spinner one contains digraphs, spinner two contains vowels, and spinner three contains consonants. Learners spin each spinner, write down the letters they get, blend them to make a...

Second graders read a brief passage about King Charles XII of Sweden who lived over 200 years ago. Then, they respond to four short answer questions about what they read.

It's time to choose a position! Scholars read a model position paper about fracking to practice identifying the topic and argument. Then, working with a partner, they use a rubric to assess the essay. 

Scholars use the provided pack of alphabet cards to construct basic CVC words, then write down each word they make in one of two columns. Column one is for real words and column two is for nonsense words.

Make a study of the First Amendment and its relationship to freedom. Pupils rewrite the amendment and discuss the central idea before focusing on a specific phrase. After discussing, class members write a journal entry about the included...

Reading and writing take on a whole different meaning in math class. Young mathematicians learn to read verbal phrases by focusing on operation words. They write equivalent algebraic expressions for both mathematical and contextual...

Scholars use a set of onset and rime cards to construct and write various simple words. Pairs take turns pulling cards from a bag and blending the onset card with the rime card to create a word. They record the onset, the rime, and the...

Go bowling for high-frequency words! Partners take turns drawing bowling ball cards and read the word printed on them. If the learner is successful, they record their score on a scorecard.

After reading up to page 371 of Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, get insight into how Percy felt making a major decision through active discussion strategies that enable both academic...

What would it be like to sell your eggs to a couple who can't have children on their own? Could you even imagine it? As most of us have never been in this position, this descriptive essay is really quite interesting. The reading itself...

The language of the Constitution can feel quite ominous to young learners, but there are a variety of strategies you can utilize to help your class grasp the important concepts and ideals in our nation's founding document. This lesson...

After reading and discussing chapter 10 of Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida with a partner, individuals write about a time they had to exhibit real courage.