Augment your eighth grade language arts curriculum with a thorough set of reading comprehension activities and assessments. Focusing on a variety of skills, including vocabulary in context, text structure, main idea, and author's style,...

An array of reading comprehension, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary activities are at your fingertips with a language arts practice packet. Second, third, and fourth graders work on various skills using reading passages and word banks,...

Maya Angelou's first autobiography,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, demonstrates both the author's exemplary writing and the themes of gender and racial injustice that perpetuate beyond the limits of the 20th century. Use a...

To get to the heart of a writer's purpose, remember to have some PIE (Persuade, Inform, or Entertain)! And, appropriately, here is a PIE chart that leaves room for pupils to identify each letter of the acronym and any other ideas or...

In "How We Researched and Wrote this Book," the final essay in Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science, authors Aronson and Budhos discuss their research methods and purpose in writing the text....

Science over humanity? Scholars analyze an excerpt from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. They must consider if the experimentation of Henrietta's cells without her consent was worth the information gained about cancer. They discuss...

Shakespeare's Macbeth has something for everyone. Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment. They craft multi-paragraph essays to analyze how the author's structural choices create tension and suspense in the play's first two acts.

How did Elizabeth Cady Stanton use rhetoric to convince others of her views? Scholars begin reading "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton," which argues that women should have voting rights. Pupils complete a Quick Write to analyze how...

How did Elizabeth Cady Stanton advocate for women's rights? Pupils consider this question as they continue reading "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton." They complete a Quick Write, analyzing how satire and sarcasm advance the author's...

Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks ... many inspirational women have paved the way for future generations, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton is no exception. Scholars continue reading and analyzing "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton."...

It's time to put it all together! Using the resource, scholars complete an end-of-unit assessment. They write a multi-paragraph essay comparing Audre Lorde's "From the House of Yemanjá" or "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton" to...

Help readers recognize elements in a story. They will use pictures and text to gain meaning from written material. Have learners listen to the story A Plump and Perky Turkey and participate in a discussion. They recognize the...

Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.

Students explore author's style. In this literature lesson, students read and take notes on a short story of their choice. Students write an original short story imitating the author's style.

How figurative language affects the tone and meaning in Chapter Three of Christopher Paul Curtis' Bud, Not Buddy is the focus of a series of exercises that ask readers to locate, record, and analyze Curtis' word choices.

Second graders consider the author's purpose for writing a text. In this author's purpose lesson, 2nd graders discuss reasons why author's write a book and how it can often be for entertainment. Students read a book, provide two examples...

An author study PowerPoint introduces the author and illustrator, Eric Carle. The slides contain a variety of information about the author; such as a list of his books, examples of his art work, and details of his personal life. The...

Bring the enjoyable story of Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel to your young readers. After reading the story as a class, young scholars answer questions about a reading and make a graphic organizer.  They make...

What does the term romantic mean? As you introduce your class to the Romantic period and famous authors, artists, and musicians from the time period, make sure they know what sets this movement apart from previous movements! Several...

The story of Cinderella is a popular one! So much so, there are multiple versions of the story being told around the world. With this collection of activities your young readers receive background information about two versions...

We're halfway there ... what a relief! Scholars read an excerpt from a primary source about the relief camps associated with the1906 San Francisco earthquake. Next, they complete a mid-unit assessment, answering short-answer and...

Everyone is a writer! Youngsters compose an original piece of writing. In this writing lesson, they come up with their own idea for a piece of writing, revise it, and then publish it with illustrations. This lesson includes three...

Write in all three authorial purposes (persuasive, informational, entertaining) with this lesson. Young writers consider a time when a friend of theirs helped them out and gave them advice on something. They write a short paragraph (no...