Here is a fantastic poster that you can easily and frequently reference in your class whenever you are asking your young writers to cite their sources. Using the acronym ICE, learners are reminded to introduce, cite, and explain...

Turn your passive readers into active readers with an engaging lesson on reading informational text. Focused on compare and contrast structured essays, the activity prompts elementary learners to jot down questions and think-aloud...

Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...

Students in pairs explore the transmission of the Plague, through experimentation. Cooperative groups use the scientific method to solve the fictional problem of a bacteria spreading in the Amazon. Groups also create a vector to visually...

Readers of The Wednesday Wars respond to model "Right There," "Think and Search," "On My Own," and "Author and You" (QAR) questions before crafting their own for class discussion.

As an introduction to Sharon Creexh's Walk Two Moons, a volunteer dons a pair of boots and walks about the classroom.Observers then ponder the axiom, Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his...

Sixth graders are introduced to the jigsaw method of summarizing text. In groups, they create their own summary and work together as a class to create just one class summary. To end the lesson, they read the class summary and review the...

Third graders read several nonfiction texts and practice finding the main idea for the text as well as learn about various habitats. In this main idea lesson, 3rd graders read several nonfiction texts and make habitat cards. Students...

Sixth graders engage in a project to persuade classmates to read a certain novel. They create a poster using persuasive advertising language. Media can be included in the form of pictures and other graphics to make the visual...

Young scholars investigate dog breeds and write a short story from a dog's perspective. In this dog research and writing lesson, students watch the film, "Dog: The Early Years. They apply critical thinking skills to determine which type...

Students participate in a whole class shared writing activity. They create an original text while examining the thought process of writers.

Third graders list creative uses for old objects. For this recycling lesson, 3rd graders work in groups to brainstorm creative, new uses for old, everyday items. This is the first lesson in a unit on recycling.

Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...

Students identify the components of a political cartoon and formulate the main ideas.

Young scholars engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of...

Students explore Earth science by completing several graphic organizer activities in class. In this oceanography instructional activity, students research ocean inhabitants such as blue crab and oysters. Students complete graphic...

Third graders create original design directions. Each student creates a design and composes directions for re-creating it. Then, when students form pairs, they take turns drawing from one another's written directions.

In this social studies essay worksheet, students follow the provided steps listed in the graphic organizer to write their own social studies essays. Students also read a sample essay about the U.S. government.

Eighth graders read copies of The Declaration of Independence, United States constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They write an opinion about the document they feel is most important in the history of the united states. This is their...

Fifth graders complete activities to help them sequence events in a story. In this sequencing instructional activity, 5th graders read a story and work in groups to retell the story by creating a flowchart of events to reconstruct....

Students review political cartoons and discuss what political impact they can have. They choose a current political cartoon and write an essay exploring its intent and impact.

Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its development since the 1850's.

Third graders examine how finding the main ideas and summarizing increases their reading comprehension. They read "The Sea in Danger" while applying the six rules of summarization in a modeled instructional activity. Next, working in...

Pupils review the concept of silent reading. Through modeling and guided practice, they follow six given steps in summarizing a chapter from "Charlotte's Web." Then they follow the same steps in summarizing the next chapter on their own.