This lesson is so beneficial it makes any teacher's heart skip a beat! After readers identify words from Words by Heart, they break down unknown vocabulary with a handout detailing various prefixes and suffixes. Once they finish...

Sharpen those pencils; it's time to write! Scholars begin writing the first body paragraph of their literary analysis essays. Additionally, pupils use graphic organizers to analyze a character's point of view from Laurence Yep's...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth novel in the series by J.K. Rowling, is the focus of a directed reading worksheet that begins by asking readers to examine the book cover and chapter titles and to predict what the story...

What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...

Get your class ready to read with this anticipatory set for Running Out of Time. Small groups each consider one thought-provoking statement. After each group comes to a consensus, the whole class participates in sharing ideas and voting...

As part of a study of civil disobedience, class members read excerpts from the writings of activists who were willing to break the law to protest unjust laws.

How can learners evaluate research sources for authority, accuracy, and credibility? By completing readings, discussions, and graphic organizers, scholars learn how to properly evaluate sources to find credible information. Additionally,...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

The most effective way to support an argument is with clear and relevant evidence. As seventh graders read and listen to Cesar Chavez's California Commonwealth Club Address, they work through five sections of a textual analysis unit,...

This resource provides the beginning ideas for a instructional activity on writing a narrative. Learners watch a video, identify story elements, including plot and setting, and then write their own stories. If augmented, this...

Young scholars listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. In this persuasive text instructional activity students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a...

Students create movie posters based upon short stories they've recently read.  In this persuasive writing lesson students analyze a poster that  is intended to persuade people to want to see the movie and convince Steven...

High schoolers use their critical thinking skills to write about historical events. In this historical perspectives lesson plan, students read documents about historical events and make annotations and marginal notes. High schoolers then...

Student explain how geographic and cultural settings influence a person's identity. They compare and contrasting Esmeralda Santiago's Puerto Rican self with her American self by participating in a close reading of the text and writing a...

Students write a story about past events and translate it into English. In this story writing lesson plan, students watch video clips, look at examples of stories, and write ones themselves.

Pupils demonstrate their knowledge of the main elements of a story by creating a storyboard.  For this persuasive writing lesson students create storyboards that are intended to persuade a director to make a movie out of the short...

Students respond to a writing prompt using appropriate letter format. In this letter writing lesson, students discuss the format for letter writing and use the worksheet format to write the heading, inside address, and salutation....

Use this lesson to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format for their...

Examine the elements of nonfiction writings in this instructional activity. Learners list common features of nonfiction and compare nonfiction and fiction books on the same topic. Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two...

Having this reading passage handy to assess your learners' ability to process written text, practice summary with your class, and improve reading comprehension. This passage is about the people who work at the hospital. Learners read...

With the Wordle ap in one hand, and their favorite writing piece in the other, 3rd graders analyze their verb usage. They select a piece they have written, type it into Wordle, then analyze their word choices and alter them using synonyms.

How do you make a pizza? Scholars examine a recipe for one of their favorite dishes. After reading the eight steps, they must re-write the steps in order. Although this offers great printing practice, younger writers may find the narrow...

Encourage your class to discuss their childhood with other classmates using the six questions listed here. After sharing their answers, learners write a paragraph detailing general information about their childhood. This plan is designed...

Third graders start writing papers with much more regularity than they did in the previous grades. They are starting to differentiate between the styles of writing and know why each is important. This activity gives the them a chance to...