Nothing's better than a really funny poem! Help young writers craft their funny poems with a lesson on one of the most challenging parts of writing: picking what to write about.

What makes a great poem sound so good? Learn the rhythmic secrets of poetry with an explanatory online lesson.

Do you wish you could write poetry that makes people laugh? Now you can! Check out the first chapter in a poetry writing series that emphasizes the importance of connecting subject matter to a light, bouncy meter.

Acrostic poems are perfect for any topic! A quick tutorial guides learners into writing acrostic poems with the basics and key examples.

Every writer knows how terrible writer's block can feel. Use these five writer's block-busting techniques to help young writers get out of their rut and into a better state of mind.

The works of Jacqueline Woodson introduce readers to diverse characters and themes. A guide covers many of the author's best-known books such as Brown Girl Dreaming and Locomotion. Dive & Discuss and Explore & Extend activities...

A three-minute exercise warms-up scholars' writing abilities in order to follow a writing process that ends in an essay. The essay's topic is a barrier and the values used to break it. Four steps include choosing a topic, jotting-down a...

Scholars discuss the concept of a barrier with a short passage on Jackie Robinson. The writing process begins with a paragraph and several other sentences about Robinson's unique traits that made breaking a barrier possible.  

Have you ever looked for a new way to teach an old concept? Scholars thinking about the rising action of a story in a whole new perspective. However, Book Report Alternative: Rewind the Plot! challenges readers and allows for much...

The Supreme Court decision Dred Scott vs. Sandford (1857) is regarded as perhaps of the largest misstep by the highest court in land. Middle schoolers read the decision to deny Scott his freedom based on key lines from the United States...

What are some of life's most tried-and-true lessons? Pupils listen to examples from the book Live and Learn and Pass It On by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. They write down their own life lessons to later compile in a class booklet. As a bonus...

An interactive printing press turns the classroom into a newsroom, giving writers the chance to create their own newspapers, brochures, and flyers. Each type of publication comes with multiple templates from which writers choose and tips...

Is it possible that six simple traits lead to a happy, successful life? Part four of a six-part series of college and career readiness lessons examines the effects of character in determining success. Working groups discuss...

Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...

A collection of writing prompts are so fun, you'll want to finish them yourself! Learners practice narrative prose and poetry skills with prompts that twist traditional structure, provide wild vocabulary, and encourage pupils to...

When faced with a dilemma, how do journalists decide how much news to use? Social media scholars explore the philosophies of ethical resolution in the first of a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series. Partnered pupils use a Potter Box to...

Teach the five different types of media with the first of three in a media literacy unit. Learners create and propose a final newspaper project, which must address information covered throughout the unit. 

High school scholars learn valuable information about how to run a newspaper in the third and final installment of a media literacy series. The unit scaffolds learners to success with background information before they plan for...

If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive activity allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and provides...

A picture's worth a thousand words—and even more inspiration! A visual activity uses photographs to inspire writers. The process teaches aspects of narrative writing, such as point of view and characterization.

Rome wasn't built in a day, but researchers can be with proper scaffolding. This writing unit has scholars write a research paper through scaffolding of various parts of the process. Learners begin with identifying a topic and crafting a...

I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...

The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his...

Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.