Bring this lesson 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 writing....

Middle schoolers analyze how to use writing for generating and organizing their thoughts before communicating them. They use the questions on the first handout to organize a three-minute introduction of themselves to their small group....

Designed to help writers strengthen their elaboration, revision, and proofreading skills, this 48-page workbook is packed with information about and exercises in personal, narrative, persuasive, and report writing.

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Fifth graders develop compositions on self-selected topics. They choose a topic based upon their ability. Individual pupils earn points for each activity completed. Students use descriptive writing as they support their composition...

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...

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. 

You don't have to be a Minecraft wiz to know that this app has great playability for your learners! As afterschool programs and classroom projects around the world demonstrate, this game goes well beyond placing blocks and traditional...

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...

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...

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

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.

Students create a ticket table illustrating the cost of tickets by alternative transportation. In this number sense lesson, students write number sentences to compare and contrast difference information in their chart. Students figure...

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

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...

Second graders write and solve story problems which involve whole numbers, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. They solve multiplication problems by using strategies other than counting all. They interpret and solve...

Students act out and interpret the story for their peers. They study the simplest form of an organized reading to a more elaborate activity involving props, costumes, or a reinterpretation of the narrative into another art form.