Intended as a follow up to the Protecting Your Drinking Water activity, young environmentalists use their assessment of the a hypothetical town's water supply to debate the installation of underground chemical storage tanks. With...

The attached resource is no lie! The K-W-H-L activity, which is fourth in a series of seven, serves as a pre- and post-assessment. First, pupils brainstorm what they know about a specific topic, then they list what they want to know, how...

What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...

Does it actually exist? Consider the sighting of a giant squid, much like the one that appears in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Middle and high schoolers read the article One Legend Found, Many Still to Go, and research other mysterious...

Use the well-known KWHL chart as a tool for building up to a research project and oral presentation related to Willa Cather's My Antonia. Starting with a class brainstorm, pupils research and gradually narrow down topics relating to...

Before beginning The Things They Carried, class members are asked to use a KWHL chart to record what they know about war, what they want to know, and where they might find answers to their questions. Groups then research...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

If you're looking to set your class up for writing effective arguments, try out this idea. While originally created with freedom as a guiding idea, the activity could easily be adapted for other themes. As a class, create a chart of...

Why is it so important to learn the art of persuasion? Being persuasive helps you acquire the things you want or the things you feel are necessary. Print out these scenarios and assign one to each group of high schoolers. As a team, they...

How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

To prepare for a reading of Christopher E. Crowe's Mississippi Trial, 1955, class members create a KWHL chart and begin by generating questions they have about the civil rights movement, slavery, and the death of Emmett...

A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...

Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...

Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective in literary history. A study guide for The Hound of the Baskervilles introduces a story featuring the famous detective before sharing activities related to the text. Readers...

Elementary schoolers evaluate the legend of Norristown Mountain by looking at facts about the Osage Indians and the legend itself. They do an exploration of Arkansas' Native American groups which includes a look at their legends,...

Middle schoolers review magazine ads and take a look at some of the most common advertising techniques. From analyzing these ads, youngsters begin to become aware of how advertisers target specific age groups, gender groups, and how they...

Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...

Eighth graders read stories and identify the six elements of a story. As a group activity, they illustrate random examples of Frankinstein stories, identify the element illustrated, and post the picture in the appropriate station in the...

As a writer, if you have a weak introductory paragraph or thesis statement, you might lose your audience! Have your middle and high schoolers practice writing introductory paragraphs that include clear thesis statements in response to...

Use the power of the pen to persuade others to get involved in community issues! Individuals reflect on personal service learning activities and the writing process. They compose essays regarding service to others. While designed for...

Young scholars read a fiction and nonfiction accounts about different types of disasters. The class uses iChat AV and iSight camera to interview students in a different part of the country about natural or manmade disasters in their...

Students complete a KWL chart on Albert Einstein. After they read an article, they discover more about his iconic status and how future scientists view him. In groups, they create trading cards about Einstein and another scientist of...

Students examine the history of the Holocaust and complete a KWL chart. Using the Internet, they research an aspect of the Holocaust they are interested in and watch a documentary. They read testimonies of survivors and identify other...