Learners complete a variety of writing and yearbook activities to complete the school year. They write a letter to the student that will sit in their desk the next school year, and a letter to their next year's teacher. As a culminating...

Students listen to a read aloud of Rosemary Wells, Yoko as they begin a study of Japanese culture and customs. They experience Japanese food, geography and culture. They write a friendly letter to the author.

Students engage in a lesson that introduces the parts of a letter. The lesson is taught using a powerpoint presentation with the purpose of integrating technology into instruction. Students create a letter and thinking map to challenge...

Students write a biography. For this biography lesson, students discuss what a biography is and how to write one. They research Mark Twain, answer questions, and write a biography about his life. 

Third graders examine personal letters written by Paul Lawrence Dunbar and discuss their characteristics. They write personal letters to a friend or relative and mail them.

Students inquire about slang language used during the Civil War. In this writing lesson, students recieve a handout of slang words used by soldiers. Students view pictures of Civil War to get a visual idea of what it was like to be at...

Students complete a variety of activities surrounding castle communities and fairy tales. They write a letter to a fairy tale character, write a fairy tale, create a model of a castle, and draw a map of a castle community.

Students explore the story of the Gingerbread Man, and compare the story's neighbors and neighborhoods with those of their school. They bake Gingerbread Friends cookies, retell the story, take a neighborhood walk, and create a class book.

Define the meaning of a cognate and use the concept to help Spanish-speaking ELLs connect their first language to English. Middle schoolers explore Latin roots to find cognates in both languages. They relate the Spanish and English word...

Before loaning a friend money, what factors would you consider and why would you lend it? Your young economists will face questions like these in a lesson on banking, profit, risk, and reward, which includes the reading of the book...

De-icing materials may have a harmful effect on our environment; have your class perform an experiment to test the nature of these effects. Scholars monitor the survival rate of a sample of daphnia as the concentration of a de-icing...

Seventh graders explore persuasive writing using the city life and the country life as focus topics. In this persuasion lesson, 7th graders read "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" in an attempt to determine the pros and cons of both...

Third graders examine the process of making and keeping friends. They identify and discuss the characteristics of a good friend, and complete a handout in small groups.

Students comprehend the details necessary to create a complete set of directions. They compile their directions into a friendly letter format. Students and teachers are able to follow written directions to complete a task.

Seventh graders read, "Where the Red Fern Grows" and write a RAFT letter from the point of view of the character Billy to his grandpa reflecting on the death of his dog and his adjustment to life in town.

Explore the many types of feelings and how people express them with a lesson compiled of kid-friendly activities that spark critical thinking, self-reflection, and reinforce language and writing skills. Scholars delve into the variety of...

Dazai Osamu’s short story, “A Sound of Hammering” is the focus of a three-day investigation of modern Japanese literature and life in post-World War II Japan. The events in Osamu’s story mirror those in his own life, and give a...

Introduce young learners to the list of children's rights as defined by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) with a series of activities that get class members thinking about what they need to grow up safely and happily.

First graders address an envelope, write a letter, and perform the duties of the postal worker in a classroom post office.

Students review rules of writing emails for letters, informal to a friend and formal.  In this writing lesson, students sort email strips into these categories and then review examples of good and bad semi-formal emails. Students...

Explore how to use appropriate language for a variety of real-world settings. Here, middle schoolers determine the audience for various types of magazines, and identify words that are appropriate for various friends and family members....

Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final activity in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of their...

Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...

Students read Flat Stanley, and make a poster board Flat Stanley which they sent out to family members in different states. They create an adventure for their Flat Stanley based on his "travels" and map out his trip.