To conclude their study of Ethan Canin’s short story “The Palace Thief,” class members use their notes and annotations to craft an expository essay response to the prompt, "Analyze how the interactions between Hundert and the Bells...

The complex relationship between a teacher and his student takes center stage in an instructional activity that asks readers to pay close attention to how author Ethan Canin introduces his characters and how he develops the character of...

Students interpret and analyze a work of art and write a narrative for the piece of art. In this narrative art lesson, students analyze a work of art and then write a short story 500-700 words long to narrate the art.

Eighth graders create an original scene or short one-act play within specified guidelines. Assessment is based upon the performance of student-created scenes during class time. Rubrics for assessment and connection to state standards...

Students identify words that can be used to describe Mark Twain's character Tom Sawyer. Students explore stage production of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by reading and discussing "An Older (and Calmer) Tom Sawyer". They develop their...

Some words are best left unspoken.  Words matter, according to Benjamin Zander, conductor, teacher, and lecturer. To illustrate his point, Zander recounts a story told to him by a survivor of Auschwitz. As a result of her experience...

Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...

Teenagers get the real information about marijuana use based on the history of tobacco legislation and research. As they read an educational passage about marijuana laws, science, and changing attitudes, they address their preconceptions...

The effects of rising sea levels on Isle de Jean Charles, located off the coast of Louisiana, are documented in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's poignant short video. Viewers are asked to consider not only the plight of residents but also what...

Is Luke Skywalker the archetype of a literary hero? Follow the path of the Hero's Journey with an engaging lesson that details the plot structure, applies it to Star Wars: A New Hope, and invites class members to choose their own...

Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...

Students compose a short story working with partners. They create a beginning, middle, and an ending. Students brainstorm with their partners and create a creative short story.

Students gather, determine validity and reliability of, analyze and organize information. They employ the most effective format for purpose and audience. Students write fully developed paragraphs that have details and information...

Students present the outline of the mystery story they are writing while working in reciprocal teaching groups. They respond to group members writing before they continue to finish revisions.

Origami is an excellent way to combine Japanese culture, art, and geometric shapes into one engaging instructional activity! Scholars begin by listening to the story Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and learn the origin of...

Middle schoolers write a narrative or short story of 500-700 words based on an assigned work of art.

Research the necessary components of a planet that supports life after reading the article "All of a Sudden, The Neighborhood Looks a Lot Friendlier" from The New York Times. After finding their information, middle and high schoolers...

Is there value in preserving indigenous languages that are almost extinct? That's the question posed to viewers of a short film about the attempt of one Native American woman who is creating a dictionary for Wakchumni, the language of...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day instructional...

How is energy transferred within an ecosystem? What would happen to a food web if one of the organisms was removed? Elementary or middle school ecologists examine these questions and more in a comprehensive 5E learning cycle lesson....

Have your class doing everything from reading literature, analyzing literary devices, identifying independent and dependent clauses, discussing, and writing creatively with the rich resource found here. After a mini lesson on independent...

Get ready to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with a lesson about historical fiction. Spanning several centuries, the resource prompts learners to guess the historical era of a story based on a word or phrase...

Students examine the elements of a story, read a review of Chris Rock's new sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris" and create original sitcom episodes based on their own lives.

Young scholars add details to their narratives. In this narrative writing lesson plan, students look at a simple four sentence narrative and add adjectives and adverbs to make it more descriptive. They do this activity whole class, in...