Bring language arts and U.S. history together in this instructional activity, which prompts middle and high schoolers to gather biographical information about Abraham Lincoln. They compare and contrast information written about his...

Use the class textbook to read a full story about Martin Luther King, Jr. The class writes facts about him and outlines his life, then they read the author and illustrator summaries at the end of the story. They compare and contrast the...

Students, who are adult learners, participate in an Internet scavenger hunt in order to assimilate information about the biography of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers. They look at the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers...

Students discuss the life of Louisa May Alcott and create an outline of a biography of her life and times.  For this Louisa May Alcott lesson, students explore the Transcendentalist involvement in the abolitionist movement, relating...

Introduce your class to Edgar Allan Poe with a series of mostly self-guided tasks and assignments. Class members follow the list of tasks, starting by watching a video with background information and ending with a compare-and-contrast...

Use this comprehensive packet to accompany a study of Missing May by Cynthia Rylant. Starting out with a brief author biography and background information about the novel, this guide includes materials to use throughout the entire novel....

Students explore, examine and study August Wilson's 10-play series where each play focuses on a particular decade. They discuss each play in depth and then speculate on the possible plots for an eleventh play set in the 21st century.

High schoolers research and American author and nominate them for an award. They determine significant accomplishments of their author's career and life. They access the Biography Resource Center and research their author.

Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.

Students assess admirable qualities in entertainers. They discuss Joe DiMaggio's obituary, focusing on his accomplishments and place in American society. They research and create their own descriptive biographies of athletes and...

Students develop questions they would have liked to ask an author about their written works. They read an article about their forefathers and research a back story to a written work of their choice. They create posters to illustrate the...

Students complete many creative writing assignments in their advanced ESL class. In this creative writing lesson plan, students complete book reports, folktales, biographies, historical journal entries, and more.

Students use the Internet to research the author Leo Lionni, then rewrite and illustrate one of his stories.

Students listen to several of David Shannon's books and identify patterns in the text. They write and illustrate a story of their own in the style of David Shannon, and share their books with classmates.

Students create Faberge-inspired art objects, depicting events in modern Russian history since Peter Carl Faberge's death in 1920. Students research the life of Peter Faberge. They write a short biography explaining how he became an...

Students discuss the personal and historical significance of journals, analyze the issues raised in a N.Y. Times article regarding Anne Frank's diary, and evaluate a Letter to the Editor written in response to the article.

Students use the Internet to access information about author and illustrator Jan Brett's books and career. They complete online activities, read interviews and play related games.

Students examine books nominated for the Mark Twain Award. They visit various authors' Web sites and read stories, explore the authors, and perform related activities.

Students examine the life and books of author Barbara Park. They read her interviews and examine her Junie B. Jones series.

Students read and answer questions about the life of Mark Twain. In this biography lesson, students read about the life and work of Mark Twain. Students complete a worksheet about the reading.

Young scholars reflect on fall memories in preparation for creating an autobiographical composition. In this composition lesson, students explore how many writers use the changing seasons, fall in particular, to describe a...

Fifth graders investigate the history of child labor that is found in America. They use a variety of resources to conduct research. Students create cause and effect arguments using the information that is found. They also compare and...

Young scholars reflect on the value of graveyards as places of great historical importance and information. They create an epitaph for and a brief biography of a deceased historical figure whom they admire.

Third graders, in groups, select and research a favorite studenT author or illustrator. They answer questions about the author, conduct research and prepare a PowerPoint presentation with their findings.