As a prequel to a research assignment, class members explore writing citations in the modern Language Association (MLA) and American Psychological Association (APA) formats. In pairs, or individually, researchers use books and magazines...

Students listen to the teacher read a book entitled, Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. In groups, students create KWL charts concerning the book, the author, and the author's writing style. In groups, students research topics about the book and its...

Explore the life's work of one of the great children's authors using this ten-lesson author study unit. After first performing some whole-group research into the life of Cynthia Rylant, the class goes on to read six different...

Put a silly spin on making amends with an apology poem. Budding poets think of a time they were made to apologize although they didn't mean it. They then turn their experience into a poem that offers details and ends with an explanation...

Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem. 

The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...

Jan Brett, the author of many beloved children's books, is well worth a study. Try out this winter-themed unit, which covers areas of language arts as well as art, math, science, and social studies.

Examine artwork, research literature, and create art pieces for a monument to a literary figure. Young scholars analyze the sculpture Model for a Monument to Alexandre Dumas père and compare it to other well-known monuments. They...

Here is a quick activity that could help your kids with their reading comprehension. They practice a classic strategy that gets them to start asking questions about what they are reading, while they are reading it. They write out...

Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...

One of the best fourth grade books of all time is Where the Red Fern Grows. Provide your class with interesting background on the book and the author as well as worksheets for every five chapters of the novel. The first part of the guide...

Why do authors write? Practice determining the author's purpose with a categorizing activity. Learners sort twelve short passages into three categories: persuade, inform, and entertain.

From A to Z, learners define, draw, and find examples of specific reading focus skills in an alphabetized reading vocabulary packet. Words include dialogue, theme, text structure, genre, paraphrase, and many more.

Students explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...

Reading snail mail is a great way to go back into history and to understand others' points of view. The resource, the second in a five-part unit, covers the Dreyfus Affair. Scholars, working in two different groups, read one letter and...

Students determine the authority of any source of information including books, web sites, and individual "experts". With an activity worksheet, they are guided through the activity, evaluating the authority and accuracy of one web site.

Has media always had an influence on public policy? After researching and reading news articles written during World War I, learners understand the influence of communication and media. They discuss articles in small groups and as a...

Learners review the facts of the court case Brown v. Board of Education. Next, they research recent court cases that uphold contrasting views on the landmark decision. They write opinions about these recent court cases from a 1954...

Examine how art and music can be powerful tools for conveying a political or social message. After considering the issues surrounding rapper Paris, students design their own album covers that reflect their political and/or social...

Seventh graders word process business letters using proper tab settings, spell checking, grammar and punctuation. They use the Internet to search for names and addresses.

The New York Times article “Lessons in Internet Plagiarism,” launches a look at how the Internet has increased the prevalence of plagiarism. The richly detailed lesson includes warm-up and wrap-up activities, discussion questions,...

Bring Benjamin Franklin to life in the classroom with a set of five activities. Discover the type of person he was and his accomplishments through a study of his inventions and comments about life virtues. 

After researching recent community or political issues, paired with a review of proper debate format, class members select a topic, adopt a side, and prepare for a debate. The value in this resource is the review of debate procedures,...

If you are beginning Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this will provide activities for the first five chapters. The objectives include making connections to oneself and the world, organizing information and events, vocabulary acquisition,...