Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...

Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...

Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....

Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

What other uses can you brainstorm for a key? What about a pair of sunglasses? Bring a bag of props into your classroom and have learners create different uses for a selection of objects. Then, after everyone has shared, translate the...

Learners use words with similar meanings to analyze implied meanings. In this word connotation lesson plan, the teacher introduces the activity by asking students whether a new product should be advertised as "newfangled" or...

At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.

Students discover the United Nations through the use of musical examples and performance. This two day lesson requires two forty-five minute sections and delivers information about different cultures around the world. Emphasis is on...

Students spend the duration of this lesson examining the text of the Endangered Species Act. Individually, they complete a profile to determine where they stand on the bill and read excerpts from it. Some role-play the various members...

Ninth graders explore career opportunities in technology and engineering. In this engineering instructional activity, 9th graders design plans and build machines to perform tasks.

Young scholars examine and discuss the African American Spiritual in a choir setting. They also sing the spiritual "Get On Board This Train" while using terms and techniques studied in the instructional activity.

Students analyze an article about fight traffic and answer questions.  In this investigative lesson students study flight and fill out a worksheet pertaining to the information that they just learned.