Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary...

Building an argument with supporting evidence is a vital skill. Learners engage in a debate over the annexation of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. They take on the perspective of an individual from that time period,...

Examine writing using a fun, interactive format. Young writers choose a piece of their own writing to proofread for initial capitals and final periods they left out. They work independently using green stickers to add capitals and red...

Read a sample of creative descriptive writing to your science class. Discuss how writing can be used to record and communicate observations that scientists make. Reading selections and thought-provoking questions are suggested. Also...

This PowerPoint highlights the steps one should follow to craft an organized essay. It addresses the purpose, audience, and format, and briefly touches on prewriting and organizing. This presentation is designed to review the very basic...

You can't publish a story until after it has been revised and edited! Budding authors investigate the writing process while drafting an original story. They select a topic, complete a rough draft, edit it, revise it, and finally publish...

Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this lesson, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story, receive different...

Is your opinion significant? Help your class discover the influence their opinions hold and encourage them to make a positive change in their community. To start, they get in teams and brainstorm why their school should have more healthy...

Though this presentation is designed for the Texas Academic Skills Program's (TASP) writing assessment, it could work for any class that is preparing to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay. Slides take intermediate writers through...

Full of tips about structure, audience, and evidence in a persuasive essay, this presentation would be a great way to start a writing unit in your class. One slide advises young writers to make up quotes and statistics in their essays....

After looking at pictures of trees, discussing tree growth, and identifying the parts of a tree, lead your class on a nature walk and have them collect samples and record their observations. They then work in pairs to polish the...

See the variety of verbs spelled out in these slides. From infinitives to intransitives, each verb is defined and shown with examples. Relationships of verbs to other parts of a sentence are clearly explained. This complex subject is...

Approach the topic of popularity with this resource from the New York Times and their Learning Network series. The article is about Alexandra Robbins' "Quirk Theory." Learners respond to the article excerpt either on paper or...

What is an advocate? Help high schoolers understand the issues forcing refugees to leave their home country. After gaining some information on the subject, high schoolers create a dynamic presentation and persuasive essay encouraging...

Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...

Inspire your class to write about role models and personal heroes with this resource from The Learning Network. Class members read a New York Times article excerpt about basketball star Jeremy Lin and how he inspired the author. After...

Using a constructivist approach and a graphic organizer, small groups work together to begin a paper, comparing and contrasting the novella Night and the movie Life is Beautiful. Assuming that your learners have studied both of these...

Great guidelines for writing persuasively are presented in these slides, along with plenty of questions to lead your scholars as they research. This PowerPoint will help your writers be clear, focused, and incredibly persuasive as they...

Let your learners be the judges for a series of case studies that focus on broadcast codes in Canada. In order to familiarize your class with the codes and guidelines that govern the broadcasting industry, in particular Canada's...

Take a quick tour through the history of Blues. Elementary learners will find this presentation easy to understand and full of interesting information. There are web links that direct viewers to additional information but none that...

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique young scholars' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book,...

A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...

Class pairs select a prompt from a provided list and tell (and record) their story to their partner. They then examine linguist William Labov's model for natural narratives, and apply his model to their tale. Next, class members watch...

The story of King Arthur is a fascinating one, and this retold excerpt offers an excellent example of narrative word choice in a dialogue. Learners read the text and examine the way the author uses synonyms for said. They write down...