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Reading Fiction
Explore how a writer's choice of words can convey meaning to the reader. Learners read selections and write questions about the content. Each question is answered by two groups of learners and the differences in interpretations are...
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Number the Stars, Lesson 10
Middle schoolers analyze the literary element mood in Chapter 10 of the novel Number the Stars. They explain why the literary element mood is a feeling that a story creates in readers. Students share their thoughts on the topic of mood...
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What's the News? Articles of Deception
Students choose a event in the news involving deception. In this deception instructional activity, students develop questions and share them. Students answer critical thinking questions about their event and describe what they learned...
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Importance of Friendship
Students identify child psychology by completing a worksheet regarding friends. In this human relationship instructional activity, students discuss the characteristics that make a good friend and how to handle conflicts. Students answer...
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Gateway
Students practice listening to math problems in a foreign language. In this number sentence lesson plan, students listen to the teacher ask them a question in a foreign language that has some type of number combination for an answer....
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Persuasive and Emotive Language Lesson Plan
Young scholars explore persuasive language. In this emotive language lesson, students consider the use of language that incites readers as they participate in reading and writing activities that require them to describe a tourist...
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Lesson 11: Comprehending the Classified Ads
In this language arts worksheet, students receive direct instruction in how to read and comprehend newspaper classified advertisements. They reflect and review after reading the advertisements. They explore different sections of the...
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It's Your Opinion
Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...
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Grammar and Usage
Seventh graders gain practice in writing sentences according to a specific purpose: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory. This lesson includes a very thorough worksheet and assessment.
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Investigative Journalism
Students choose newsworthy topics to research and investigate, narrow focus of investigation, get information from the source through interviews, write stories, and submit to media outlets.
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How Do Authors Use Imagery to Shape Their Writing?
Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their own...
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis instructional activity. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...
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Like It Or Not?
Write a review of the film adaptation of Holes. After viewing the film, your young reviewers make recommendations about viewing the film. Using details to support their opinions, they highlight the important parts of the movie without...
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Twenty-Five Great Ideas for Teaching Current Events
Teaching current events can be an amazingly-rewarding part of your teaching week. This resource presents twenty-five ways to incorporate current events into your curriculum. It offers some outstanding ideas, such as providing your...
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Determining Importance
Students hone their skills at identifying the principle story in a work of art and text. Through discussion, students assess the central and supporting stories of a work of art that is characterized by multiple layers of action and meaning.
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A Call for Change
"Come gather round people, wherever you roam..." Bring the voice of Bob Dylan to your class with this lesson plan, which takes Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changing" and analyzes both the message and voice in the lyrics. Your class...
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The Ultimate Survivor Using Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
What items would you need to survive if you were stranded in a remote place? Using chapter 10 of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, middle-schoolers work through a Six Trait writing activity to create a story about their own survival in a similar...
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Persuasion: Analyzing Persuasive Writing
Young scholars examine and create persuasive essays. In this writing activity students engage in activities that allow them to understand how a persuasive essay is constructed so they may compose their own.
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Imagine That! Analyzing Imagery
Poems by O. Henry, Marion Dane Bauer, Monty Roberts, and Langston Hughes provide the text for a study of symbolism, hyperbole, and imagery. Employing the “think-pair-share” strategy learners generate definitions of these terms and locate...
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Visible Speech: A Short Course in the Fundamentals of Writing (Lesson 5)
Of these five slides, two consist of the title and directions; the other three list the parts of an essay and their purpose, as well as how to best begin an essay. In essence, this is a very brief PowerPoint that can be used as a...
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Number the Stars, Lesson 11
Students analyze point of view in the novel Number the Stars. Their writing prompt is how would this chapter(11) be different if Peter were telling the story? Students create a class concept web about pride on the board.
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Getting Ready to Write
Students watch an online slideshow that shows Cornelia Funke's transition from an illustrator to a writer. They discuss her writing process from the way she gathers ideas to how and where she writes. Next, they work in groups to choose a...
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Reaching Across Borders In Southern Africa
Young scholars gain a greater understanding of how political borders impact human and environmental development. Then, either individually or as a class, establish a correspondence with a Peace Corps volunteer working in Africa.
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Writing to Persuade
Learners discover effective writing techniques to create persuasive essays. In this writing lesson plan, students investigate ways to express facts and points of view through persuasive essays. Finally, the learners write their own...