Explore nonfiction writing with your class. They will identify elements in nonfiction by reviewing elements of fiction. Then they use biographies, memoirs, menus, Time for Kids, and text books to identify elements of nonfiction. They...

Students acquire a pen pal in a foreign country and write letters at least twice a month throughout the year to exchange with them. At the end of the year, they write an essay that compares one important difference and one important...

Explore this story involving prejudice and racism to enhance learners' comprehension skills. The story The Jacket by Andrew Clements involves an African American boy who is falsely accused of stealing someone's jacket. This teacher's...

Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their...

Elementary writers practice writing descriptive paragraphs by adding adjectives and sensory words to their writing. They use a picture of a monster for their descriptive paragraph. This 12-page lesson should increase your charges...

Measurement and map skills are the focus of this instructional activity, where young scholars crawl through a "cave" made out of boxes, desks and chairs, observing the dimensions.  Your young geographers measure various aspects of...

Combine math, creative writing, and leprechauns in a fun St. Patrick's Day activity! Using a bag of gold coins and marshmallows, kids write a math story about a leprechaun that includes a multi-step equation to solve.

If the Lorax were to write a letter, what would he write? Introduce your class to systems and feedback loops through the whimsical stylings of Dr. Seuss. Learners take on the Lorax's point of view to write a letter, among other activities.

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...

Demonstrate gift giving as an act of caring about someone versus gifts for show (or gifts from the purse). Elementary learners practice giving gifts from the heart by creating a poem for someone special to them.

How do you think the parrot in "The Ghost" chapter of Matilda feels in the chimney? Put a class member in the hot seat and have the class ask questions relating to how they might have felt if they were the parrot in the chimney....

Enthusiastic readers take part in a book club unit that focuses on genre, particularly historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure. Over the course of 10 days, groups read a variety of stories and choose leveled activities from a learning...

Students create a writing journal. In this journal writing lesson, students discuss what to write in a journal and why it is fun to keep a journal. Students start their journal by writing about a pet and use the entry to write a short...

For this writing worksheet, students examine a picture and read a story starter about a little green frog who is at the top of a kapok tree. Students finish the story.

Young scholars read stories and explore the importance of sequential order. In groups, students are given sentence strips. Young scholars holding the sentence strips, place themselves in a logical order to make a story. Individually,...

Young scholars discover the importance of using descriptive words in good writing. They brainstorm words to describe elephants and dogs then watch a video that describes different items. Each student writes a paragraph using descriptive...

Students explore biology by writing fictitious stories in class. In this insect life lesson, students identify many different types of insects in the animal kingdom and the classifications they fall into. Students collect insects on a...

Young scholars work in groups to write stories that have homonyms in them. In this homonyms lesson plan, students use their own experiences to write these stories.

Pupils read Abe Lincoln's Hat and use a plot diagram to identify the sequence of the story. They use plot diagrams to write their own stories from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln's hat.

In this Silver Blaze and Other Stories reading and study guide worksheet, learners respond to 8 multi-step short answer, multiple choice, and graphic organizer questions. The questions are designed to be answered before, while, and after...

Learners listen to story A Mason-Dixon Memory, by Clifton Davis, and complete worksheets about the story. The worksheets are embedded in the plan. This activity provides good reading comprehension practice for young readers.

Young scholars write a script, planning and recording improvisations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.

Elementary learners explore fiction storytelling through partcipating in a survey. They identify the characters, themes and plot of the Harry Potter series while discussing their opinions in class. Learners conduct a survey about their...

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.