What is a ‘Zine? Although the referenced PBS video that launches this study of self-published magazines is not available, the activities detailed and the step-by-step directions for creating ‘Zines would engage young writers. This...

Good worksheets pinpoint key events and get readers thinking about the choices writers make when crafting a story. Here's a good worksheet. Designed to be used with the first chapter of Of Mice and Men, consider having your pupils...

Take a look at foreshadowing in any text by recording instances of foreshadowing in a straightforward graphic organizer. Learners note down the event, the clue, and the page number for five foreshadowed events. There is also space for...

In this Animal Farm chapter one worksheet, students state the main idea of the chapter. The worksheet asks that the student summary includes title, author, topic, main idea, and quotations. In addition, students paraphrase the chapter...

In this reported speech worksheet, students use the correct form of the verb in a reported speech sentence. Students are given a direct quotation and must form a reported speech sentence based upon it.

Encourage close reading of the text and a focus on how Sandra Cisneros' develops her characters with an activity that asks teams to sort, group, and label character descriptions from The House on Mango Street.

Practice using parentheses and brackets with your class using this handout and short exercise. This could also be used as a reference sheet, since it lists several different proper ways to use parentheses and brackets, with examples of...

Show your class the difference between primary sources and secondary sources. The first page provides a list of examples of each type of source. While they research, pupils can refer back to the list quickly to make sure they are reading...

Students choose better pronouns to use in their writing. In this pronouns in writing activity, students identify pronouns in their writing, then replace second person pronouns to improve their writing.

Start off your study of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with a lesson plan spent exploring some of the concepts that will be present in the novel. This anticipation guide focuses on honesty and lying. After learners decided if they agree or...

Reinforce comma rules with this exercise. Learners add commas to a series of sentences and, using a list of eleven rules, match the rule they followed to each sentence. This activity would be best for classes that have had fairly...

Learners are guided through a series of strategies to help them practice using the computer and become better Internet users. They follow steps in an exercise to practice search strategies and begin research on a topic for a research paper.

If grammar practice is anywhere in your curriculum, you must check out an extensive collection of warm-up activities for language arts! Each page focuses on a different concept, from parts of speech to verbals, and provides review...

Students explore the basic steps of writing an informative five paragraph essay. Using a hamburger as an analogy, students discuss the five part method of writing and, given blank hamburger sheets, they fill in the main parts of the...

Candy conversation hearts make writing a sweet pastime. Fifth graders write narratives demonstrating a complete thought and correct punctuation. The trick here is that they must use the words on five candy conversation hearts as part of...

Use these project guidelines as a start to designing your own class PowerPoint project and to consider what elements you would like to assign and assess in your class. While the resource begins with instructions for researching World War...

Of these five slides, two consist of the title and directions; the other three list the parts of an essay and their purpose, as well as how to best begin an essay. In essence, this is a very brief PowerPoint that can be used as a...

Help your learners attain vocabulary and practice reading comprehension with this cloze activity. Created by The Learning Network, this resource provides a New York Times article with the words already removed. Pupils can fill in the...

Middle schoolers will examine advertisements, explore ways to inform, locate pictures of Hemingway, read sports articles, and follow directions to create a finished project - a newspaper. their newspapers are multifaceted with not only...

Students organize facts about Harriet Tubman. In this writing lesson, students research Harriet Tubman, sort facts about her into two categories, and use the information they have found to write about her life in complete paragraphs.

Students research and experience the culture of Zen Buddhism. They engage the practice of meditation by practicing themselves in a variety of contexts with different cultural readings.

Punctuating dialogue properly can be tricky, but your pupils can become punctuation masters with practice. This resource includes an explanatory page that describes the rules of writing dialogue and provides examples. On the second page,...

Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? Tackle this question with primary source analysis and an essay. The packet includes historical background, a writing prompt, a combined outline and checklist, and ten primary documents paired with...

In a mock senate hearing regarding the development of ethanol as a fuel source, each person in the class is assigned a role to play and must uphold the stance of their character. Once the senate hearing is complete, each person writes a...