Mix up your writing lessons by having kids look at recent newspaper articles instead of their own work. They work in pairs and rewrite sports news articles using synonyms and antonyms for a set number of words. Then they share their work...

Students review the correct form for writing paragraphs.  In this paragraph writing lesson, students rewrite a poorly written opening sentence. Students make changes to a closing paragraph.  Students write a plan for an essay...

Explore the newspaper as a unique entity with a detailed and extended unit. The unit requires learners to consider the newspaper's role in democracy, think about ethics, practice writing and interviewing, and examine advertising and news...

A three-minute exercise warms-up scholars' writing abilities in order to follow a writing process that ends in an essay. The essay's topic is a barrier and the values used to break it. Four steps include choosing a topic,...

Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...

Over the course of three days, middle schoolers explore the concept of connotation. They differentiate between the connotative and denotative meanings of sports team names, develop their own team names, logos, and text, and revise a news...

Track the progress of your fourth graders' reading and writing skills with this practice Common Core assessment. Based on a collection of six reading passages that include narrative stories, poetry, and a series of...

Fifth graders read a book.  For this informational text features lesson, 5th graders define captions and their purpose.  Students view an article and discuss the graphic aides that assist comprehending the information...

Scholars discuss the concept of a barrier with a short passage on Jackie Robinson. The writing process begins with a paragraph and several other sentences about Robinson's unique traits that made breaking a barrier...

A project-based lesson has pupils create a bulletin board to share artwork, nonfiction articles, and messages based on social justice themes. The finished board is displayed in the community to create a place for discussion. 

Learn about why the citizens of Washington, D.C. feel unrepresented in Congress with an article about D.C voting rights. Individuals read about the movement toward congressional representation in Washington, D.C., before...

Your class members will get up close and personal with the Big Apple in this fantastic activity, which introduces learners to not only the concept of a city, but also provides a thorough overview of New York City itself and its...

Students work in groups to paraphrase an article.  In this paraphrasing lesson, each group is assigned a paragraph to paraphrase in one sentence.  Other groups critique the sentences to make sure each is effective. ...

Second graders examine graphs and charts from their local newspaper. As a class, they discuss what the data means and how it relates to the article. In groups, they are shown two sets of graphs or charts and they practice explaining...

Just how long did it take the framers to write the Constitution? What role did the drafting process play? Scholars examine various drafts from the Constitutional Convention to gain a better understanding of its formation. Interactive...

Did you know that Marie Curie's papers, as well as her cookbook, are radioactive and stored in lead-lined boxes? Did you know that Nikola Tesla developed a death ray? Famous scientists and inventors are the subjects featured in a series...

Students work in small groups to identify the following categories of news articles: hard news, features, announcements, and opinion/personal reflection.

Students read newspaper articles. In this social studies activity, students locate the latitude and longitude of the location where the news article takes place. Students write a summary of the news article.

Fourth graders write paragraphs.  In this opening and closing paragraphs lesson, 4th graders complete a worksheet to develop interesting opening and closing paragraphs. 

The topic of consumerism seems easy to those who participate actively in the US economy, but pupils who are new to economics may see the idea as foreign. Help them understand their rights as consumers and what to expect when interacting...

Elementary learners create an ABC grammar book. The project begins with class members taking digital pictures of items that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Depending on level, they then add a word or a complete sentence to...

Standard notation, exponential notation, base numbers and exponents are featured in an article designed to be used as a reading comprehension exercise. Kids read the passage and then respond to the comprehension questions attached to the...

Have you seen a large number of grammatically incorrect sentences in class writing lately? Help alleviate that issue with this app, which is targeted toward teenagers. Class members look at age-appropriate images and choose the correct...

Sixth graders practice paraphrasing. For this paraphrasing lesson, 6th graders read a paragraph and highlight the important words. They write a summary sentence of the paragraph making sure not to copy any sentences.