To form the letter A, a writer must go up, down, and across. Teach your learners how to put together every letter of the alphabet, uppercase and lowercase, and use this reference page of Zaner-Bloser handwriting as a support.

As part of a study of immigration and the U.S. economy, class members assume the role of newspaper editors to determine which submitted letters to print on their paper's editorial page to present a balanced view of the debate.

Students analyze how Emily Dickinson perceived herself as a poet. Students read correspondence between Dickinson and her preceptor, Mr. Higginson to determine the depths of their relationship. Students interpret several of her poems.

Put to use the old saying, "When two vowels go a walking, the first one does the talking." Scholars focus on the /ee/ and /ie/ sounds and spelling patterns that create them. First, they label four pictures with the ea...

To gain an understanding of how the Great Depression affected everyday citizens, class members examine letters written either to the president or to the governor of Alabama asking for assistance.

Step into the shoes (or sandals, perhaps?) of Odysseus, a member of his crew, or another character featured in Homer's enduring classic, The Odyssey. and send a letter back telling the world your side of this great adventure story.

Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...

Engage in an activity that focuses on the concepts of formal and informal language use. Middle and high schoolers compare and contrast each style by using a Venn diagram that includes some examples. They read and hear a passage of lyrics...

Help writers recognize how word order affects meaning, discover new words, and confirm or check meaning writing. They will explore how punctuation helps a reader understand what is written and the connections between punctuation,...

Thud! Squiff! Create sound effects with words. Introduce your youngsters to onomatopoeia with these fun, rainy-day poems. They write down sound words, discussing rhythm and rhyme. You can also incorporate the author's use of capital...

Scholars submit their final performance task, a letter to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. As a culminating activity, they share their work with classmates in small groups. 

Whether you're using it to tell stories, explore the letter b, or during a life science lesson, these butterfly puppets will be a hit. Youngsters use crayons, tissue paper, and paper bags to create butterfly puppets.

Use this end of the year letter writing worksheet to have elementary young scholars fill in the blanks in a letter written to the next year's class. They will advise them about things to remember, favorite things about teacher, and...

Pairs use onset and rime cards to make as many words as possible by blending the onsets with the rimes.

First grade is a great time to build strong reading skills. Here are three short rhyming poems or common nursery rhymes that are intended to help boost reading fluency. Because most children know these rhymes, they will have an easier...

Readers take all the information they gained from the last 19 lessons and complete an essay describing how King develops his purpose and claim in "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Pupils use a rubric and checklist to help guide their...

How do facts and opinions impact the news? After reading "How to Cover a War" from the New York Times, middle schoolers evaluate the claims in the article. They also consider the media's responsibilities in reporting during wartime....

Which one rhymes? There are four starting objects here, each heading a row of three objects. Learners identify the objects and their vowel sounds to determine which one rhymes with the first object. All these rhyming words involve the...

If it's on the Internet, it must be true ... right? Introduce young Internet explorers to the importance of fact-checking through a fun web-based activity. Pairs work together to read and analyze biographies about world explorers, then...

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...

Sometimes the best way to understand a concept is to break it down. Young vocabulary pupils work with word parts in a hands-on activity that prompts them to connect flash cards with affixes to their root and base words....

Have you just visited an art museum? Or can you create a gallery in your classroom to visit? Pupils create an original drawing that reinforces what was learned in a visit to the art museum. They will view original art work and verbally...

There's nothing like a provocative image to inspire a creative writing session. In the language arts lesson presented here, middle schoolers bring in digital photos of scary objects, such as a big spider, or a hornet's nest. The pictures...