Bring this lesson plan into your unit about creative writing and precise language. First, middle schoolers create a piece of writing with the help of their classmates. In the second part of this workshop, they edit their own piece of...

Third graders analyze the importance of characters in fiction writing and performances.  In this theatre lesson plan, 3rd graders identify the important characteristics of a fictional character and how to portray a character through...

Use the accompanying assessment to determine your class's prior knowledge on Martin Luther King, Jr. before beginning a lesson plan on the famous civil rights movement leader. The resource has young historians thinking about life for...

Scholars stretch their writing muscles with an exercise that asks them to describe the sky using similes and metaphors. 

A desk is used as a visual analogy to construct the main idea and supporting details in a story. The top of the desk is the main idea, and each of the four legs provides supporting details. The legs of the desk provide support for the...

Read a tale for your class as they unravel patterns presented in the story using manipulatives. Pause to allow time for discussion and explanation of solutions throughout the story. They write equations or expressions with order of...

Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates. 

Learners use adjectives to improve their descriptive writing. In this language arts lesson, students discuss adjectives that can be used to describe objects. Learners complete sentences by selecting adjectives.

Students practice descriptive writing in a thank-you note format. In this descriptive writing lesson, students read the example letter and analyze the corrections in the letter. Students read the example thank you notes and focus on the...

Students find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Students then practice rewriting sentences using vivid...

Use fables as a fun way for English Language Learners to gain confidence and fluency in their reading and speaking skills. After reading a fable in class, they retell their story to a group of their peers. When this jigsaw activity is...

Build the writing skills of your junior high wordsmiths with activities that introduce many essential skills of writing.  As a class, they develop working definitions of formal vs. informal writing, explore different categories of...

Introduce and challenge the essay organization skills of your junior high writers with the paper reconstruction activity in this demonstration.  Theydetermine what the word organization means, and discover the basic organizational...

Guide young grammarians through common sentence structures with a helpful slideshow presentation. Focusing on coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, the presentation helps individuals to see the elements that make up...

Designed with many of the Common Core standards in mind, this 10-lesson unit is brimming with ELL strategies, teacher's notes, and the best of core instructional methods for teaching the common elements of folktales, and exploring...

Eighth graders participate in writing a descriptive paragraph with a main idea and supporting details. They generate correct mechanics and spelling while writing this paragraph. When finished, they complete a rubric (that is included...

Show, don't tell! Pairs work together to change a list of telling sentences into showing sentences using picture words that create vivid pictures in the readers’ minds.

Use this lesson to study similes and metaphors and the inferred meaning. In this language arts lesson, 5th graders write their own similes and metaphors. A worksheet is provided for extension work or to check understanding as homework.

Students read a reprinted article from USA Today. For this metacognition lesson, students complete a worksheet about their thoughts while they are reading.

Young scholars create a ticket table illustrating the cost of tickets by alternative transportation. In this number sense instructional activity, students write number sentences to compare and contrast difference information in their...

Students recognize inductive and deductive reasoning and analyze common fallacies in critical thinking.  In this argumentation and logic lesson, students use role playing activities and specific instances of inductive and deductive...

Learners find the volume of rectangular prisms.  For this volume lesson, students use a formula to find the volume of rectangular prisms.  They discuss the definition of volume and draw rectangular prisms.  Learners...

Second graders elaborate on the classroom writing practices. They locate the various parts of the keyboard such as, space bar, shift key, delete key, etc. They also type a short piece of writing on a word processor. This is a teacher...

CStudents create a sensory chart in on the topic of Mardi Gras. They design a brainstorm web using Inspiration and complete creative writing assignment. Students write a poem about Mardi Gras that is presented to the class at the final...