Why do people and characters act as they do? Require your class figure out the motivation of two people or characters they read about in a given text. In the short charts, pupils note down who, what they do, and why they do it. After...

Third graders explore communications by utilizing technology. In this e-mail writing lesson plan, 3rd graders identify important elements to include when writing an e-mail based on whether it's to a friend, colleague or employer....

Second graders practice writing. In this five senses writing lesson, 2nd graders describe their experience on the field trip they took to the zoo. They work as a class and independently to come up with different things they saw, smelled,...

Students read a text and summarize what they have read to others. In this summarization worksheet, students also cross out unimportant details.

Study and practice the vocabulary in Rudyard Kipling's famous story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Pupils underline verbs in a passage from the story, taking special note of vivid or precise verbs. They then write original sentences for five...

Learners write two descriptive leads to learn how to reel in readers. After their leads have been written, they will share with a partner to decide which was the most appealing. For this leads lesson, students can also write a reflection...

In this writing worksheet, students make a list of all the things that make them sad, happy, lonely, angry, afraid and silly. Students then write 6 short poems and put them together to make their own personal book of poems.

Students explore political persuasive writing. In this government and persuasive writing lesson, students work in groups to write text and create graphics for a  brochure describing and promoting a predetermined political candidate.

What are the elements of a personal narrative? Get your class talking by reading "The Necklace" and "A Dangerous Game." The instructional activity focuses primarily on defining certain vocabulary terms (like context clues, plot,...

A three-day assessment challenges scholars to read a passage from an informational text then complete two activities that lead to a writing assignment. Day one and two begin as readers independently read a passage and tag the most...

Over three days, scholars listen to and read the poem, "Covers" by Nikki Giovanni. Learners complete a graphic organizer by sketching their visualizations from each stanza then discuss their pictures with a peer. Pupils answer...

After completing Chapter 5 of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, readers make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections to Victor Martinez's novel by crafting journal entries addressing comments and questions to characters in...

Is graffiti art? Writers explore that question as part of a source-based argument within a set of questions from the NY Regents examination. The assessment from June 2018, part of a larger set of standardized tests, consists of three...

The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...

After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...

This writing pre-assessment has minimal instruction but maximum support and encouragement. It begins with a review of the book, Rain School, through a think-pair-share and small group discussion. The discussion...

Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...

Through direct instruction, the teacher demonstrates how to identify the main idea and supporting details of a text when creating a summary. As a class, read a paragraph, highlighting relevant information and crossing out extraneous...

Franklin the turtle is on another adventure in Paulette Bourgeois' book Franklin Goes to the Hospital, and there are plenty of new words for your young readers to explore as they hear this story. Although you can include more,...

Teach your class five reading strategies to help them with reading informational texts and literary texts. This packet, designed to help learners prepare for the CAHSEE, provides specific strategies that could be used to help prepare for...

Review the terms denotation, connotation, diction, and mood in paragraph writing. After defining the terms, middle schoolers practice writing examples of both connotation and denotation. They complete a connotation and denotation...

Plagiarism, copyright, and fair use are the focus of a three-part instructional activity designed to inform scholars of how to properly cite others' work. First, pupils use a KWL chart to begin thinking and...

Here's a project that gives academics the chance to share their opinions on social justice with storytelling, creative writing, or art. Scholars choose what they want to create and are assigned buddies to support their efforts. To...

Writers light up their manuscripts by embellishing the first letter in their text. The two-page assignment sheet includes colorful samples from twelfth and thirteenth century texts.