A simple question can spark such a range of responses and creative thought. Use this writing prompt to get your youngsters talking about the thrills and adventures of reading, as they detail their favorite books, what they are about, and...

Scratching your head when it comes to engaging writing prompts? Check out a list of prompts designed for middle school classes, which includes topics for persuasive writing, expository writing, how-to essays, personal narratives, and...

Class members analyze the details of a section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig to determine a central idea. Learners use turn-and-talk to discuss the details and ideas they identify. They then work in groups to annotate the text, respond...

Peer pressure and the desire for acceptance are powerful things. A thought-provoking lesson looks at the positive and negative effects of wanting to belong to a group. Class members examine the roles of the perpetrator, the victim, the...

Meet Chuck Spencer, an archeologist who studies the Zapotec people who lived in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico over 2000 years ago. Spencer shares in print his response to questions posed by kids.

Scholars look at the connections between identity and labels, assumptions, and stereotypes, in a lesson that examines identity in the United States. To set the stage for a discussion of these connections, class members analyze a cartoon,...

Third graders read the story to identify the problem and solution that occurs in Night of the Pufflings. They identify problems within the story that are solved through the characters' responsible actions. Students describe in their...

Third graders read Pepita Talks Twice and define the character traits of respect and responsibility. They write their examples of the characters traits on a character trait doll. Students recognize the character traits of respect and...

Seventh graders work together to focus upon the skills needed for career development. They work together to find the kind of responsibilities that are needed in the contexts of home, work, and school. They create a poster based upon the...

Pupils explore the individual's role in society. In this social responsibility activity, students analyze Camus's The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus as well as Borges's "Rosendo's Tale." Pupils compare the themes of the pieces to the...

Fourth graders explore the human and animal connection along with the idea that death is a part of the life cycle. They read "Where the Red Fern Grows." Students examine the feelings and emotions surrounding death and they discover the...

How does identity influence the way people respond to events? That is the central question class members grapple with as they examine a political cartoon, read a vignette by Sandra Cisneros, watch of video of police officers discussing...

Students work on Sustained Silent Writing which encourages them to develop their writing skills. Students are encouraged to share their writing with a partner, the class, a small group, or in a "donut". Lesson describes ways to journal...

Students examine the history of the ghettos and read Rumkowski's letter. Using journal and diary entries, they identify types of resistance used during the Holocaust. Writing a letter, they use references to Rumkowski's original letter...

Fifth graders listen and react to the book Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry. They write in their journals every day approximately one page or more as a reflection on the reading.

Students review their understanding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They explore other types of medical responses to common emergency situations and evaluate the importance of CPR training in their curriculum.

Learners observe responses to emergency situations by participating in and making observations about a fire drill. They then analyze the fire drill proceedings from the perspective of a sociologist investigating social order during...

Fifth graders participate in a variety of math and language arts activities based on chocolate.

Students complete a written timeline organizer utilizing information from the "Who Am I?" reflection/response handout. They create a graphic time line illustrating important event in their lives in sequential order with the help of...

Research animals and develop a non-fiction presentation. Students will complete research on a particular animal and determine the animal's characteristics as well as habitat before choosing a differentiated project to present using the...

Students read the book "Baseball Saved Us" and respond to the story through writing activities. In this reading lesson, students create a chart of events  which they predict will take place in the story. Students then use their...

Students explore reading comprehension strategies. For this character development and reading comprehension lesson, students brainstorm common traits of "heroes." Students read Heroes, then identify the personal conflicts the story...

In this novel guide worksheet, students respond to eleven short answer questions about the plot and literary elements of Chapter Six in The Outsiders.

What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical journal...