Using everything they have learned about writing paragraphs over the past few lessons of the unit, class members compose an informative paragraph independently. This is an authentic assessment of their ability, since learners have...

Despite the slightly off-putting title, the instructions and activities detailed in these project guidelines for researching a noteworthy figure will serve as a fantastic supplement to your next famous person research...

Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...

What factors make adaptation successful for refugee and immigrant children? The class explores the topic by reading two paragraphs from "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison." Next, they engage in a think-pair-share to discuss...

Transition words in writing are the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. In it, learners cut out the word-sort cards (embedded in the plan), and put them into four categories: time, examples, space, and summary. They...

Hook your class into inquiry-based, hands-on learning with a activity on narrative leads. Pupils research different types of hooks and decide which one to use in their own writing. Carefully scaffolded to include all learners, the...

This detailed presentation starts with a review of using key components to graph a line. It then quickly moves into new territory of taking these important parts and teasing them out of a word problem. Special care is...

Fourth graders demonstrate and evaluate the six traits of writing. They read and identify good writing and bad writing, utilize a rubric to self-evaluate their own writing, participate in a Reader's Theater, and publish a class book.

Third graders complete a unit of lessons on the process of six trait writing. They identify good writing traits, read and evaluate poems, literature, and myths, utilize a rubric to evaluate their own writing, and evaluate classmates...

Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. In this descriptive writing lesson, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an animal they want...

Students compare and contrast a classic fairy tale with a fractured one and complete a graphic organizer. Then they write a persuasive essay following the steps of the writing process. Finally, students publish their completed essay and...

Students investigate different journalistic techniques used to add color and new dimension to fact-based news stories. They write a journal discussing techniques that journalists could use to make Michael Jordan's retirement from the NBA...

Improve reading comprehension with a set of ESL worksheets. Kids read through various passages, note which facts are true or false, mark their opinion on two statements, and write a short reply based on a writing prompt.

Is Pluto still a planet? Using this popular question, kids are introduced to graphic organizers as a writing tool. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how to use them and work together with a partner to research whether Pluto is a...

“It was a dark and stormy night.” Thus begins the 1830's novel Paul Clifford and, of course, all of Snoopy’s novels! Encourage young writers to craft settings for their stories that go beyond Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s often-mocked phrase...

Pupils explore brochure writing. They work in groups to brainstorm and categorize important places in their community. In addition, they gather information from the Internet, take pictures using a digital camera, and create a community...

Teach your class about the Declaration of Independence while giving them practice working as a team. The resource breaks participants into groups and has them answer questions about specific grievances from the Declaration of...

Extra, extra, read all about it! Use a newspaper as the primary resource in a special education classroom to teach reading, writing, and math skills. The activities help class members build their reading skills as well as their...

And that's a wrap! Scholars create their concluding statement drafts by examining model text with exemplar conclusions. In pairs, they discuss how transitional words and phrases add to sentence structure and consider how their concluding...

A world without adjectives would be a sad place indeed! Make sure adjectives stay around by teaching your class about what they are and how using them can make a boring story truly interesting. Learners put this idea into practice by...

Intended to supplement your existing cell function and organelle lessons, pairs work together to develop a real-world analogy for cell structures. In addition to writing paragraphs about the comparison, each group will make a short...

How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...

Your class participates in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book Julian Secret Agent. They complete a class story chart, examine how to use punctuation for dialogue, write an alternative...

Working on revision? Check out this resource on Common Core standard W.9-10.5, which focuses in particular on the writing process. After reading some information about the specifics of the standard and how to implement it in the...