Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Sixth graders select a book from the Newbery list and read it. They write a short summary of the book without giving away the ending and then research the book's author. They write a book review and, finally, incorporate all of this onto...

If you teach AP English language and composition and are looking for a way to address the differences between written and spoken arguments, consider this activity. Over the course of three days, class members research Charles Darwin or...

Strut your stuff, just on a computer and not on a fashion runway. Scholars program a fashion show animation using block-based computer coding. They learn how to apply different code blocks in writing their programs.

Class members select a science fiction novel for independent study. To verify they have completed the reading, they write a summary, a critique, and an outline of the plot for a sequel or prequel. They then deliver a five-minute...

Students write reports, including a summary of their research findings and their historical journal entries, to be shared with friends and families, and publish their reports.

Students create presentations to discuss a book they've read using a video format. In this reading and speech lesson, students video tape a presentation about a book they've written a summary for. Students then produce an in-house...

Students summarize articles found in the newspaper and use key concepts to write a poem. In this reading comprehension and writing instructional activity, students work with a partner to choose a current newspaper article. Key concepts...

Students analyze how developers plan for a shopping center. They take a field trip to a nearby shopping center. Also students participate in a shopping center scavenger hunt. Students identify factors important to the location of...

Do your scholars strive to work for themselves some day? Help young entrepreneurs  create a business plan for an original idea and present it to a "board of directors." They complete online research (some links provided) and put...

Are you working on an Outsiders unit? Use this list of activities to deepen your middle schoolers' understanding of the novel. After reading S.E. Hinton's novel, young readers work on three required activities, including participating in...

What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...

Explore the concept of retelling a story with the Gingerbread Man. Read various gingerbread man stories with your class. They will create character puppets and retell the story to one another and in small groups. Additionally, they will...

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

Studenets are told that Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28, 1577, in Siegen, Germany. They create their own allegorical painting, think of a favorite story. Students write a summary of one scene in that story, using Crayola Erasable...

Students practice summarizing a story that they have read. They write a persuasive essay encouraging others to read the story they have finished. They are to create a movie trailer or advertisement to promote the book.

Students investigate entertaining characters within stories. In this writing lesson, students review nouns and adjectives and discuss magical characters. Students ask themselves questions about their selected characters and write a...

Third graders identify the main ideas illustrated in the story "Dancing Rainbows." They identify details from the story that show respect toward self and others. Students write a paragraph to illustrate how the Tewa Indians show respect....

Class members take on the role of graphic designer and craft a cover for a book they are reading. Individuals formulate a proposal outlining the images they will use to not only grab the interest of readers, but hint at the mood and...

Students read the fractured fairy tale, The Frog Principal by Stephanie Calmenson and compare it to the original version in order to gain deeper understanding of the fairy tale genre. For this fairy tale lesson, students identify and...

Students write a book review stating challenges the character faced and if they enjoyed the book. In this language arts lesson plan, students fill out a worksheet provided.

Students investigate sentence construction in fiction.  In this sentence construction lesson, students examine examples of fiction work and discover why sentences are a certain length.  Students create their own passages...

Students write the story of Rosa Parks from the perspective of someone who was sitting on the bus that day.  In this Rosa Parks/biography lesson, students read the story of Rosa Parks and discuss it in small groups.  After...

Young scholars investigate the many cultures that are represented in America. In this American culture lesson, students look at the food, languages, music, and traditions that immigrants have contributed to the face of America. They...