Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Define and write proverbs! Learners define proverbs, use the Internet to find weather-related proverbs, and talk with their parents to learn other proverbs. There's a well-structured worksheet included here. 

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

Transform a written biography into a video biography! Introduce your learners to the biography format by reading them a few examples (some suggestions are included). Then discuss the factors that make a good biography. What information...

Give young scholars a chance to practice making inferences after reading the book Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. They confirm whether or not their conclusions are true, have a class discussion, and then independently complete an...

The design of this two-day lesson eloquently exposes learners to the topic of social justice for people with disabilities. The plan is built off the reading of Are You Alone on Purpose? by Nancy Werlin. The activity introduces...

A getting-to-know-you activity that is perfect for the beginning of the year! Kids craft their portrait out of clay, then make a mobile by dangling ceramic representations of things they love. This project builds self-awareness, motor...

Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

After reading and analyzing two narrative memoirs, middle schoolers engage in a variety of activities, including writing an essay, developing a story map, and creating character charts. They then compare and contrast story maps, and...

Explore women's history through films and filmmaking. An innovative research project prompts class members to create their own screenplay about a figure in women's history. After outlining their characters, settings, and plots, young...

Help your middle schoolers identify personal experience narratives in their own lives through telling stories themselves and from family members or other adults. They study personal experience narratives in Swapping Stories and compare...

In theory, at least, indentured servitude and slavery were two different practices in the American colonies. Class groups conduct a close reading of two primary source documents, one written by a slave and one by an indentured servant,...

Biographies deserve special attention when training youngsters how to use the library because they are alphabetized by subject rather than by author. Guide children through the process of finding biographies over a two-visit series. On...

Who was Alexander The Great? How did Abraham Lincoln’s early life influence his political life? Learners select a historical figure to use for video biography. After developing research questions and collecting information, pupils search...

Read out loud the stories Doctors Try to Separate Joined Twin Sisters, and New Planets Discovered. Focus on these words and the meanings of their prefixes: conjoined, extra-solar, telescopes, and universe. Then read information on the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] What is history? And why do historical accounts differ? For this lesson, students create brief autobiographies and then reflect on the process to better understand how history is written. Exploring...

This is a 4-day lesson on how to write an autobiography. Students also learn to take digital pictures of themselves and use them in their writing.

Contains plans for nine lessons that ask students to write autobiographies before creating multimedia presentations for them. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as...

In this lesson, students research the history, meaning, and personal significance of their life story. Students will interview parents and reflect on their own experiences to learn the history of their lives. Contains links to step...

Use this lesson plan as an interesting culmination of a study of parasites. Students use the information they've gathered to write an autobiography of thelife cycle of the parasite of their choice.

In this lesson, young scholars will create original poetry and prose and will assemble a written autobiographical booklet in a middle school language arts class. After all poetry and prose are written, students will create a digital...

In this 3-lesson unit, students will read Douglass's narrative. They will analyze Douglass's vivid first-hand accounts of the lives of slaves and the behavior of slave owners to see how he successfully contrasts reality with romanticism...

A lesson plan format for a high school student to write an autobiography using the elementary school alphabet book format. ("A is for Alabama. I was born in Alabama")

Contains plans for five 30-40 minute lessons that ask students to create BioBags, a kind of literature autobiography. In addition to student objectives and standards, these instructional plans contains links to PDF handouts and links to...