Have you assigned your learners a creative writing project, only to find that their incredible creativity doesn't easily translate to writing? Here's some practice to kick them into sensory overload! Using their five senses, they choose...

Compare and contrast a major news story from various newspapers. How does the perspective change? Are certain things included in some of the stories and left out of others? Have pupils complete a graphic organizer to compare how...

Readers learn how to summarize scientific text and evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges in writing summaries. They select science-related articles you've pulled and collected from the New York Times and, with a partner,...

What is the author's purpose for sharing an autobiography? Start this instructional activity with the short story provided about getting pulled over by a police officer. Then, discuss the acronym PIES and how it stands for the four main...

Do you know who Jonas Salk is? Print these pages and have your middle and high schoolers read his biography in Time magazine. The reading itself is short, and it is followed with a key date chart, three reading questions, two connection...

Have your learners practice comprehension skills using this resource. They answer questions about the story The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline K. Ogburn. Additionally, they use graphic organizers to display information and analyze the...

This lesson plan has it all, primary source documents, an interactive trade game, clear teacher background information, and sailing to the West Indies chance cards. You will play, trade, and live out the experiences of early colonists in...

The villain is sometimes the best character in a book. They are usually troubled, dynamic, and will do anything to stop the main character. Have your class better understand villainous antagonists by creating one in class. They work...

Research characteristics of slavery during the 19th century by reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Also view several informational texts, pictures, story illustrations, and primary source documents. Pupils write an expository...

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 peers. Helpful...

Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places their story...

A vivid setting can bring a story to life. Challenge your writers to dive into this element as they complete worksheets in preparation for their first draft. This packet starts by giving an example of a description that simply tells who...

Okay, your writers are ready to become authors - but how do they begin? This packet uses humor to keep kids entertained as they learn about first sentences. First, they get a brief introduction to the various types of beginnings they...

Middle schoolers examine the distribution of power and privilege in their own towns, provinces, and their country. They create a story based on a famous subject from one of Robert Harris' paintings. By the end of these lessons, learners...

An excellent presentation on styles of writing awaits your young writers. They are coached on all sorts of writing tasks; creating thesis statements, supporting those statements, word choice, and finding sources. Some terrific websites...

Sharpen those punctuation skills with this multiple choice worksheet. There are 10 sentences to read, and learners make corrections where needed. Tip: Have your emerging editors go back to their own written work and edit where necessary.