Step into the great outdoors and develop young scientists' skills of observation with a nature journaling lesson plan. Given a specific focus or goal, children practice making and recording observations of nature through written...

Prepare for any writing assignment with a series of prewriting activities. The resource includes instruction sheets, graphic organizers for brainstormng, and sample writing prompts.

Designed to be used with an independent reading book, this activity provides practice with identifying and explaining literary terms. While they read, individuals find instances of literary devices and elements in use in their books....

Students examine how to take a sample by looking at rocks in the schoolyard. In this sampling lesson plan, students discuss ways to classify rocks by color, size, and weight. They think about how many rocks would make a good sample of...

Mail me a postcard. Individuals design a postcard to show what Meg Lowman from The Most Beautiful Roof in the World might have written to her friends at home. They then continue to work on writing a science journal entry.

Get started with The Cay. First, provide some background information and images that relate to the novel. Then pupils can create double-entry journals. Once that is complete, read the first two chapters, encouraging individuals to record...

Students explore ocean biology by participating in a plant growing activity. For this seaweed lesson, students identify the importance and uses of seaweed in the ocean and examine different seaweed samples. Students utilize an aquarium,...

A fun, modern twist on journaling! Instead of responding to prompts in their composition notebook, writers use the Internet to complete blog entries. A sample blog (with prompts) is shown here, and writers are assessed on conventions and...

Fourth graders have to place themselves in someone else' shoes through journal writing. They place themselves in someone else' shoes through journal writing. Students write the journal entry to another student in the class or a...

This online resource is composed of a writing sample about teacher appreciation and a writing prompt for learners. You could use this as an in-class journal activity or you could have class members post their responses on the New...

Sixth graders review three sample sentences in order to identify sentence structure, and to practice how to edit sentences appropriately. They work with a partner to define a run-on sentence and identify three ways to correct it. They...

Students explore the species found in the Galapagos Islands and practice descriptive writing skills by creating a sample journal. They create a fictional journal that documents the places they visit and the species they encounter.

Fourth graders create journals with explicit descriptions of objects found on the school yard.  In this descriptive writing lesson, 4th graders read some of Lewis and Clark's journal entries before they explore the school yard, then...

Students explore autobiographical stories. They write about a personal experience that is significant and memorable. Students specifically explain the chosen events. They define autobiography and share their stories.

Students read the book, The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System, and discuss the planets visited by the characters in the book. They write journal entries from the viewpoint of E.T., writing letters home describing his travels in...

Pupils study Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle and his visit to the Gal??pagos Islands. They click through an interactive map of the Gal??pagos Islands to read actual and fictional journal entries from a fellow eco-tourist.

This lesson about writing can be taught in small groups or large group settings. They examine basic writing techniques and practice using them to improve their writing.

Students engage in producing responses to "what" questions and their written responses will be recorded in a Travel Journal. They produce their respones using a word processor. This lesson is very detailed and a rubic is included.

Students evaluate a video about Nellie Bly, a famous reporter from the 19th century. They consider what makes a high-interest news article, write an essay in pairs and present it a literary tea.

Explore run-on sentences with your language arts class. There is a SMART Board presentation included, but even if you don't have access to this technology, there are several useful pieces here. Provide your learners with the "student...

Students distinguish between primary and secondary sources when researching on the Internet and evaluating historical records. They recognize important features of a primary source such as the type of document, who created it, what is...

Fifth graders, in groups, write about things that happen as a result of interacting with their environment.

High schoolers read aloud the book "Courage" by Bernard Waber and discuss the examples that compromise the defintion of courage. They describe another word such as joy and work with a partner or group to brainstorm and write sentences of...

Students journey with Lewis and Clark. In this literature lesson, students read The Journal of Augustus Pellitier-The Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804. Students keep a journal in the persona of a member of the expedition crew.