Growing writers explore what it takes to develop and support a thesis statement with pre-fabricated ideas provided by the Virginia Department of Education. Learners take notes on what makes a thesis statement and a topic sentence, and...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Social media has changed the news publishing process, so how does it affect school news publications? Lesson nine in a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox explores the traditional publishing roles through the lens of social...

Remind young historians that many technological advancements influenced the events of World War I. After analyzing technology's evolution through primary sources, discussing the changes over time, and watching various video clips,...

Organize the characters in Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic according to their shared character traits. After listing character traits as a class, kids note which characters exhibit particular characteristics with a...

Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...