It's all a matter of opinion! Pupils take Part II of the mid-unit assessment, in which they continue organizing their notes in preparation for writing an opinion speech. Using the resource, they add reasons, evidence, and a concluding...

Incorporate geometry into the solving linear equations lesson. Pupils use their knowledge of geometry to write linear equations which reinforces geometry measurement concepts while at the same time providing a familiar context for...

Ready, set, write! Scholars work on the end-of-unit assessment by completing a writing prompt. They then look at the model performance task from instructional activity two to create a rubric for scoring the exercise. Using turn and talk,...

Division is division is division is division ... four different ways to write division. Scholars continue to learn about division expressions. They translate between several forms, including verbal phrases, expressions using the division...

Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing activity. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound words and then...

Third graders examine how a family modifies their environment to create a home out of mud. They read the book "This House is Made of Mud" by Ken Buchanan, and write a description of their own home that compares the home of mud to their...

Your future is what you make it! Eighth graders launch their career searches in the first of six career and college readiness lessons. Scholars research to discover their extracurricular options both in and out of school, then locate...

Reading and writing take on a whole different meaning in math class. Young mathematicians learn to read verbal phrases by focusing on operation words. They write equivalent algebraic expressions for both mathematical and contextual...

How many people can sit around a table? The 22nd part in a series of 36 continues the work on writing and evaluating expressions to include expressions with two operations. Pupils use models to determine an expression for the number of...

After reading on the topic of their paper, high schoolers work in pairs to assess how to write powerful, precise thesis statements. The introduction contains three statements: a universal statement, a bridge statement, and a thesis...

Examine the characteristics of an effective persuasive paper. In a group, eighth graders discuss the analogy of a debate being like a persuasive paper. After brainstorming topics, they write an argument and then debate it. Secretly, the...

After viewing the West of the West's documentary Cache, individuals craft either a newspaper article chronicling the discovery of the cache on San Nicolas Island, a historical narrative of the placement of the cache in the cliff side, or...

The first instructional activity of a five-instructional activity unit designed for eighth graders has class members reading and watching a video of Edgar Allen Poe's narrative poem, "The Raven." They then craft their narrative poem,...

Read De la cabeza a los pies once for your learners before teaching them the body movements that accompany the book. Then, read it again and have the learners demonstrate the movements! There's also a chart to help...

Use a traffic light to model a very basic paragraph plan. The Go, or topic sentence, is written in green and expresses an opinion about the topic. Information that supports the opinion of the Go sentence is written in yellow and the...

Students use compacting when learning spelling words. In this spelling lesson, students take a pre-test on their weekly spelling words. Students who score 100% are exempt from spelling and those who miss 0-2 words compact their studying...

Teach young readers how to compare two texts and select passages that exemplify a specific theme with Lesson 6 from Unit 3. Begin by modeling how an expert reader selects examples from a text, performing a think aloud on how Article 2 of...

Four weeks, 19 lessons—this unit covers five new vowel spelling patterns, tricky words, spellings, verb tenses, reading fables and exploring the writing process. Lessons offer review, an introduction to the concept, skills practice,...

The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries. 

One, two, three go!  Scholars work independently to finalize the three components of their final task. They complete a science journal entry, scientific text box, and scientific drawing. While working, learners sign up for an...

What is the big idea? Scholars use Middle Ages Excerpt 2 to complete a summary graphic organizer. They then use the information from the organizer to write a summary of the text on lined paper. Learners share summaries with the class.

What's this all about? Scholars learn the importance of summarizing skills using a summary writing graphic organizer. They work with an elbow partner to discuss summaries and complete the organizer using Middle Ages Excerpt 1. Learners...

Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...

After watching West of the West's documentary on Catalina Island, The Magic Isle, class members research how Walt Disney's and William Wrigley's different visions impacted the island.