What is a signal word? Recognizing these words is an important step in both reading and writing formal text. Review a list of signal words (provided and organized into specific categories), and then have your class play a game to...

Young scholars create their own versions of The Eensy-Weensy Spider. In this creative writing lesson, students read The Eensy-Weensy Spider and imagine what else the spider could do. Young scholars then draw a picture depicting the...

First graders watch the teacher model how to draw pictures and write words in a First, Next, Then, Last - 4 block graphic organizer. They write and draw in their own 4 block papers.

Students read the book, 'The Relatives Came' by Cynthia Rylant to revive memories about their own summer vacations and family customs. They write a friendly letter about a fantasy summer vacation--"What I Wish I Did on My Summer...

Students identify life goals as they write an autobiography. They write a strong introduction for their autobiography. Students write a sequences of events using their Life Map as a graphic organizer. They write facts accurately...

The second lesson of a pair about Paul Laurence Dunbar, this plan focuses in particular on his poem, "We Wear the Masks." After a short historical introduction, class members conduct a series or readings, marking up the text and...

Withered, wild, and bearded are three adjectives that describe the Witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Scholars view paintings and discuss how different artists depict the witches. Pupils also complete a Quick Write to analyze Henry...

How does Lady Macbeth's ambition help advance the plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth? Scholars explore the topic using discussion and a jigsaw activity. Next, they complete a quick write to analyze how Shakespeare develops Lady Macbeth's...

How does Shakespeare develop the central idea of agency versus fate in Macbeth? Using the resource, pupils work in small groups to discuss the plot of Act 3.1. Next, they complete a brief writing assignment to analyze how the main idea...

Lady Macduff uses a metaphor to suggest that her husband does not possess the courage of even a tiny, short-winged bird—ouch! Using the resource, pupils discover Act 4.2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Using reading, writing, and discussion,...

Macbeth describes life as a light and a candle, suggesting it is fleeting and meaningless. Using the resource, scholars engage in an evidence-based discussion and complete a Quick Write about Shakespeare's use of figurative language in...

In this introduction to algebraic thinking, students perform given calculations. They draw a sequence of pictures to explain the equation. This five page worksheet contains six multi-step problems.

Students explore patterns and sequences. Given an example of each, they discuss their observations. In groups, students participate in an "Around the World" activity where they rotate to different stations in the classroom to determine...

Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters.  In this character writing instructional activity, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as...

Second graders investigate timelines. In this sequencing lesson, 2nd graders create a timeline of events important to their lives and then write a description of the event describing why it is important to their life.

In this ordering worksheet, students are given a list of four numbers, all containing three digits. Students rewrite the numbers in order, according to the instructions. Some numbers are written greatest to least, and others are...

Students write a fictional story into a comic book format. In this creative writing lesson plan, students analyze example comics and discuss the format. Students create a comic book using imaginary characters that find a solution to a...

Second graders explore world history by writing newspaper articles. In this Greek history lesson plan, 2nd graders investigate the geography and society of Ancient Greece by utilizing the Internet as a research tool. Students collaborate...

Students explore storytelling by participating in an image analysis activity. In this story structure lesson plan, students read the book Cookie's Week by Tomie dePaola and retell the story to their teacher in sequential order. Students...

Ninth graders examine sequential number patterns and the Fibonacci sequence. Given number patterns, they determine the next number in a sequence. Students develop their own number patterns and exchange them with another to be solved.

Students select writing prompts for the class.

Middle schoolers write in their journals at the beginning of class. They create a poster of what they just wrote about in their journals. Pictures are to be labeled and dictionaries are encouraged.

For this language arts instructional activity, students study a picture of a farmer who cannot pull up a turnip. Students use the 16 word vocabulary bank to write a story. This may be related to the book The Turnip.

Students discover missing letters of the alphabet. In this letter recognition lesson, students identify the missing letters in a short alphabet sequence. Students complete a worksheet as an assessment.