A Life Lived Well

Living in someone's shadow would be difficult for anyone, including one of the most talented artists of the modern age. Middle schoolers read an excerpt from Vincent Van Gogh: Portrait of an Artist by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan...

Secondary students use Kidblog to engage in a class discussion on biographies. They choose a historical figure to write about, conduct Internet research, and compose a biography on the person they chose. All of their notes, discussions,...

Combine a study of biography writing with some tips for spicing up writing. After reading two passages, one much more descriptive than the other, pupils examine what makes one more interesting. They then brainstorm some ideas for writing...

Celebrate Black History Month with this instructional activity, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas,...

What is on your pupils' "Bucket Lists" - the list of things they want to do before they die? Their choices of activities for this list could be very revealing, and is a great source of inspiration for a personal poem. The instructional...

Students become effective writers. They need to practice strategies for working through the writing process. By presenting the students with a creative problem, they must choose a position and support it accordingly.

Distinguish between primary and secondary source documents using the theme of philanthropy. Middle schoolers discuss Anne Frank: The Diary of Young Girl as a way to study the past using a primary source. Then they investigate how to...

Even for one of the most accomplished men in American history, there was room for improvement. Challenge high schoolers to use Benjamin Franklin's Project for Moral Perfection to analyze text, make inferences, connect to historical...

Students examine the published diaries of Anne Frank, or Zlata Filipovic, to gain an appreciation for journal writing, a form of autobiographical writing in which the writer records personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences. They...

Young scholars read a first hand account of John F. Kennedy's assassination. They write an essay describing how a world or national event affected them.