Students explore tone in "Much Ado About Nothing." In this literary elements lesson plan, students  list the main points of the plot, identify shifts in tone, and select love songs that reflect the tone of events and/or characters.

Sixth graders practice choral reading of poetry.  In this creative literature lesson, 6th graders incorporate elements of performing arts into their choral readings of various poems.  They discuss musical instruments, facial...

Add many seconds of beauty to your class with a short film and related project. The resource centers around a competition based on one-second segments of film, and the final compilation that came from the contest. Pupils identify...

Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...

Reporting the news is easy, right? Think again! Show young scholars the difficult choices journalists make every day through a lesson that includes reading, writing, and discussion elements. Individuals compare the language and sources...

Here is a fabulous, five-page lesson plan on how keywords can help a reader with his/her reading comprehension. After a teacher-led discussion, pupils pair off with each other and work together to identify the main idea in a passage of...

Combine informational text and creative writing with one fun activity! Middle and high schoolers write found poems based on newspaper headlines that they find. The resource includes a thorough lesson plan and many links to articles that...

This 32-page packet, designed for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on heroes, provides activities and exercises for those learners who need extra support to master the basic concepts in the units.

Plant or animal? As part of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit Our Earth, learners engage in activities and exercises that provide them with extra support to master the concepts in the unit.

Students inquire about the Holocaust. In this Holocaust lesson, students read books and discuss their thoughts. Students also collect current event articles from newspapers. Students investigate ghettos, Pearl Harbor and Navajo Code...

Draw back the curtain, add a spot of joy to your class, and let learners be lessoned by a close reading exercise that models how to develop an interpretation based on evidence drawn from a text. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “My...

One of water's claims to fame is as the universal solvent. Young physical scientists experiment to discover which materials dissolve in this special compound. You could never be more prepared for teaching this lesson than by using this...

Third graders read children's literature during the school year and compile a list of books and genres in an Access database. They print out a report of all the different books and genres of they read over the whole school year.

Budding poets choose a topic for a sensory-filled poem. Authors describe that topic using detailed language based on the five senses. Then, switch the senses to create a fanciful poem intended to add a touch of fun to the objective. 

Scholars work collaboratively to compose a found poem from one of their favorite stories. With a finished product in hand, class members form a circle and perform their work for an audience by taking turns reciting one line till the poem...

How did the television change people's lives? Learners consider the question as they complete their storyboards about the invention of the TV, adding visual elements along the way. Then, they participate in a peer review to offer and...

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

Using a variety of novels about survival, such as Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, pupils create author's studies using wikis. First, learners are placed in groups to study a particular novel. Then, they create a page...

Take the last step in writing a literary argument essay using Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis in an activity focused on feedback. Using the stars and steps revision method, pupils consider teacher and peer feedback to revise...

Students add themselves in to a story. In this literature lesson, students listen to the story Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard and James Marshall. They pull out certain words in the story and add their own to create a new...

Students study writing structure and patterns in repetitive texts. In this writing structure lesson, students read portions of a story and predict what will come next based on the repetitive text. Students create their own repetitive...

Students examine the Kaipara region of New Zealand and practice research and writing skills. In this social studies lesson, students use a template to create their own Kool Kumara Pal. Students explore a day in the life of...

Students study fables in a broad context. In this literary lesson on fables, students define terms unique to them. Students use a variety of technological resources to gather and classify information into three categories. Students also...

Students read Knots on a Counting Rope, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. In this guided reading lesson, students evaluate the characteristics of a realistic fiction piece. They are asked comprehension questions during and after...