In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.

Why do athletes load up on carbohydrates the evening before a competition? The instructional activity helps answer this question as it relates the type of food to the amount of energy it contains. After a discussion, scholars...

Students examine and explore cultural traditions that make their own families unique. In groups, they discuss traditions, write about the similarities and differences in the group, and interview other students.

Students write a persuasive essay about the death penalty. Students respond to students at St. Ignatius Catholic High School in Cleveland protesting the death of Adremy Dennis. Students research both sides of the debate, before writing...

Adult learners, examine the Internet to answer life skills, use an online dictionary, evaluate web sites and fill in online forms. They will also write about web sites in this series of activities.

Young scholars explore the trait of integrity. In this character education lesson, students read letters by Steve Williams pertaining to jobs that help others. Young scholars discuss the jobs WilIiams shares as well as integrity in their...

Sixth graders explore language arts by writing dialogue. In this vocabulary choice lesson, 6th graders identify synonyms and the importance of using a thesaurus while writing dialogue in their own original work. Students revise and edit...

Learners examine the concepts of healthy and unhealthy drugs. They read and discuss excerpts from the book "The Human Body," develop a list of healthy and unhealthy drugs, and write sentences relating to safety about medicines and other...

Compare and contrast the characters in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Using a Venn diagram, kids write in different traits to describe each person, and note their shared characteristics in the middle section.

Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...

Third graders read aloud a book about a favorite place. They make and share a list of favorite places and then use a graphic organizer to write a description of a favorite place so that the reader can imagine being there.

Tenth graders read the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and complete characterization activities. In this characterization lesson plan, 10th graders work in tiers to examine the text for evidence about the way Dickens uses the...

Fourth graders complete activities with the book Help, I'm a Prisoner in the Library by Eth. In this reading ideas lesson, 4th graders are broken into tiers based on their reading ability and complete different activities. These...

Students create an expository essay. In this writing lesson Students are assigned a country and must conduct research surrounding a historic event that occurred in that country at the time of their birth.

Sixth graders explore popular ideas about the Sun and Moon. In this space science lesson, 6th graders separate commonly accepted details about our solar system into facts and myths. Students research a particular idea and...

Students interview staff members at their elementary school in order to get to know them better. They write interview questions, conduct an interview, write a paragraph about the staff member, and take digital pictures of that person....

Students explore their own self concept. They draw a picture of themselves, read a story, and write a story that has a character like themselves. Afterward, they write and illustrate their stories in PowerPoint.

Students complete activities to learn how to develop story ideas in journalistic writing. For this story ideas lesson, students learn news value judging criteria, identify language to ask beat sources for story ideas, distinguish story...

Students read, The Recess Queen and answer questions about the book.  In this story book lesson plan, students write stories about situations that they have gone through similar to what was in the story. 

Students explore American social movements. In this writing skills lesson plan, students read Orwell's "Politics and the English." Students then apply the rules for writing that are included in the piece. Students follow-up by completing...

Students research the kind of volunteer options for teens in their area, using the Internet and calls to local agencies. Students conduct a simple survey in your school or ask volunteer organizations you contact to help you get in touch...

The teacher reads the story "If I Were An Ant" by Amy Moses. The students then each create a page in a classroom book about what a small object would look like if he/she was an ant. The student writes about their chosen object and then...