Make learning the parts of a book fun by having pupils construct their own glossary entries, table of contents, and title page. Beginning with a review of text features and a hunt for examples, kids use previously written fables to...

Monsters take center stage! Elementary schoolers are assigned to write a descriptive paragraph by a toy company to help in designing a new monster for their toy line. One student composes the paragraph, another uses that to create a...

Young writers read excerpts from Gary Paulsen's memoir to identify figurative and literal language that contain sensory details. They determine which selections are examples of sensory language and fi the language is used literally or...

How does recognizing the author's purpose help you draw conclusions about a topic? Using two articles (both are attached), learners brainstorm why each author wrote each article. Are their purposes similar or different? Learners use a...

If you are interested in having a basic framework for teaching expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing, this resource may help; however, you will have to find information on the different forms of writing to share with...

Examine the text features of non-fiction. Start the lesson by reading editorial samples provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization. An editorial example and graphic organizer are...

"I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." This colored view is the focus of a close reading activity that asks readers of The Great Gatsby to examine the way...

Primary learners read the text The Relatives Came and make text to self-connections. In this literature discussion, they discuss what the text reminds them of in their own lives. They can also write down their connections and share them.

Young scientists develop their observation and writing skills as they craft and then post a detailed description of a plant or animal they have spotted and photographed.

Advertisers target teenagers. Groups select three magazine advertisements for similar products, analyze the appeals used in each, create a poster that features the persuasive techniques used, and present their findings to the class. The...

Connect global examples of attempted genocide with a well-designed social studies lesson. It includes an excellent informational text with background information on the Holocaust, as well as worksheets, book report guidelines, and...

Students write about themselves. In this descriptive writing lesson, students view a PowerPoint for examples of descriptive writing and then write sentences describing themselves. Students use a computer program to type their sentences...

Students create a thematic booklet containing examples of different types of expository text structures. They explore a variety of expository text structures.

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Are you looking for a way to teach sequence of events in your narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson to your middle school class, as it prompts young writers to create a narrative sequence map of events that have happened at school...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

How far have California's Channel islands moved? What was the rate of this movement? Class members first examine data that shows the age of the Hawaiian island chain and the average speed of the Pacific Plate. They then watch West...

Students read and explore autumn poetry. In this poetry activity, students read Autumnblings and are introduced to different poetic forms. Lesson includes ideas for exploring the poetic forms presented in the book and cross-curricular...

Learners identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. In this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Learners construct their own...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass serves as the anchor text for a lesson on symbolism. Readers use the provided worksheets to examine the symbols in the novel as well as in the world around them.

Elementary schoolers engage in a literature study. They make comparisons of two different versions of a story using a graphic organizer. Using the text and pictures elementary schoolers investigate three elements from the story. Then,...

High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...

Third graders read several nonfiction texts and practice finding the main idea for the text as well as learn about various habitats. In this main idea instructional activity, 3rd graders read several nonfiction texts and make habitat...

Students explore all the uses of commas by finding sentences using commas and describing how they are used by comparing the sentences to the rules for utilizing commas. They create a poster with five rules of commas and examples for each...