Hooks Teacher Resources

Who purloined the poodle? Class groups read police reports and theorize whodunnit. The sixth of a ten-lesson series on mysteries.

To conclude their study of Out of the Dust, the 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, individuals craft a narrative essay based on one of the themes in Karen Hesse's novel.

In this classic novels worksheet, students write the classic novel that the anagram represents. Students complete 10 short answer questions.

Students examine different poems from Emily Dickinson. They practice listening for meter in the poems and make connections between the texts. They also practice their own creative writing skills.

Students study the use of tapestry in the daily lives of those living during the Middle Ages. They design and create a weaving of their own detailing artists' use of visual language and symbols throughout history. They write a story that...

Students assume the persona of one of the members of Lewis and Clark's expedition team. They research a member of the expedition team, write a first-person introduction of that team member, and share that introduction in a 2-3 minute...

Students are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in their...

Fourth graders write positive statements about themselves. They brainstorm ideas of what a positive thinker looks like and sounds like. Students compare and contrast positive and negative thinking. They complete a worksheet. Students...

Reinforce what constitutes a complete sentence using this presentation. Colorful arrows point to missing parts and clear explanations are presented for missing verbs or incorrect prepositional phrases. Avoid sentence fragments in writing...

Creating a Bill of Rights isn't easy! Help your scholars experience what the Founding Fathers did by challenging them to write a Bill of Rights. Groups pretend they are a new democratic country and proceed to create that country's Bill...

Students investigate the history of peoples in the western United States. To accomplish this Students use photographs as images that capture the context of different cultures. Then they write reflections about each culture.

Eleventh graders use technology as a tool to research authors of literature being studied. Then students use a presentation program to make final presentations. This instructional activity allows them to create an understanding of the...

Fifth graders use a database to gather information on the United States last five Presidents. Using the information, they identify their similarities and differences and what characteristics made them a good leader. In further detail,...

Students read the information about the movie "Song of the South" and watch some of the clips. They write their reaction to the proposal to re-release the movie. Students consider whether it would matter if the studio adds an...

Use the list-group-label strategy to introduce your class to In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The teacher begins by writing a word on the board (dictatorship is suggested here), and then the kids write as many words...

Get your young writers outside of the traditional essay writing mode with Free Write Friday. Free Write Friday encourages your class to use personal experiences or knowledge to write more creative pieces. Young writers could experiment...

Many words have suffixes, and knowing them can help scholars with vocabulary and spelling. They read a brief introduction explaining suffixes and giving two examples: -ly and -ful. Then, learners add these suffix examples to...

If you need an introduction to skill W.9-10.1 for writing, then you’re off to a good start here. Included is a funny script that introduces what the students need to know to conquer the skill. It also provides an introduction activity...

Arthur, the main character in Marc Brown’s books, is the star of this lesson. Pairs of researchers select one character from the Arthur series and use the internet to access Brown’s web site and learn more about their chosen character....

Engage the class in researching oral histories and historical revision, in order to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices made by Americans in the Korean War. The inquiry process is scheduled to take one week....

Quite often, learners confuse the main idea in a selection of reading with the supporting details. In this lesson, pupils practice the skill of finding the main idea and the supporting details in pieces of writing. Newspaper articles...

Young writers examine the world of diaries. They study the diary of the famous Samuel Pepy, and discuss why it's so important. Together, as a class, they create a diary that describes what happened in school on a certain day. The catch...

What is a signal word? Recognizing these words is an important step in both reading and writing formal text. Review a list of signal words (provided and organized into specific categories), and then have your class play a game to...

Young historians examine the lifestyle changes and cultural changes that occurred as a result of the challenges posed by World War II on society in general. With regard to American History and culture, pupils write an essay on the...