F. Scott Fitzgerald's intent in The Great Gatsby, was "to state the American dream as dramatically, as passionately, as possible – and at the same time, to hold it up to moral judgment, to see what lies and terrors lay beneath its...

Tell it like it is with a collection filled with resources that focus on expository writing skills. Seventh graders work on comparing and contrasting texts, analyzing current events, and structuring their essays in clear and...

Two texts anchor a 14-lesson unit that explores what it means to be a woman in America. In her "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton" Stanton argues for women's right to vote. Audre Lorde offers a different point of view in her poem, "...

The 20 lessons in Module 1, Unit 2 continue the study of Thanhha Lai's Inside Out & Back Again. Scholars build their skills as they analyze informational texts that look at the experiences of other refugees and the challenges they...

Through a close reading of excerpts from fiction (Black Swan Green) and nonfiction (Letters to a Young Poet), class members analyze how authors use specific words and figurative language to develop their central ideas. All eleven lessons...

Teach your sophomores how to compare the same ideas in two different texts with a unit that uses Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights as central texts. Class members use their close reading skills to...

Ethan Canin's short story "The Palace Thief" is the anchor text in a unit that teaches 10th grades close reading skills. Class members gather evidence for an expository essay in which they analyze how how the author uses the interactions...

Introduce freshmen to the writing process with a unit that shows them how to craft an informative, expository paper that addresses a research question. They learn how to develop a central claim, an engaging introduction, how to avoid...

Analysis of complex texts requires close reading. The six lessons in the first unit of Module 1 teach readers how to annotate text, as well as how to conduct evidence-based discussions, and produce evidence-based writing, the skills they...

The third unit in this module uses Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" as an anchor text. Learners continue to develop their close reading and analysis skill, this time with a nonfiction text. In addition, they work to improve their...

A continuation of Unit 1, the 25 lessons in this unit require learners to continue to practice the skills they will need in the English Language Arts Classroom: close reading, annotating text, collaborative discussions, and...

Narrative, expository, and persuasive writing; all of it's covered in a collection designed to support sixth grade writing skills. Here you'll find units, lesson plans, activities, worksheets, printables, videos, and apps. Check the...

Boys become beasts in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Explore their progressive transition with a collection of materials for a novel unit, including a presentation with background information, lessons on literary elements from the...

Expository writing aims to explain, describe, define, instruct and/or inform. Here are some resources that will inspire your writers, encourage them to think critically, and help them formulate their own ideas. Take a look at the...

Resources designed to address argumentative, information, and narrative writing Common Core standards can be found in this collection. Materials that address writing production, distribution, and research are also included. Take a look...

The common core standard W.11-12.2 is the focus of a collection that includes lesson plans, unit plans, worksheets, and webpages designed to help your writers craft informative/explanatory essays that clearly and accurately express their...

Help your students explain, inform, and examine with these resources tied to the W.8.2 expository writing standard. I've put four resources at the end of the collection that are interdisciplinary in nature, a few having to do with...

Help your middle schoolers get started with writing expository/informative pieces with these resources aligned with the Common Core W.6.2 standard.

Offer scholar's differentiated instruction with a collection of three Houghton Mifflin English language arts units—challenge, extra support, and English language development. The Smart Solutions themed units offer detailed lessons,...

Freshman take a stab at analyzing information texts in a unit that focuses on readers' fascination with true-crime stories and murder mysteries. Using Walter Mosely's Newsweek essay, "True Crime: The Roots of an American Obsession" as an...