Dive into the power of the sun with a two-part lesson plan. Budding scientists model the greenhouse effect in a hands-on activity, and then participate in a skit that explores the earth's energy balances and what really occurs...

Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...

The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...

Students create a bio-poem for themselves or characters in stories they have read. They explore common character traits.

Tenth graders read and analyze the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. They examine the setting, plot, and climax in the novel. Character descriptions, good, evil symbolic images within characters are dissected in detail with...

Using a character map, learners assign traits to characters from Nicholasa Mohr’s El Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories. In addition, groups record evidence from the stories to justify the labels and use these sheets to prepare for...

Third graders, after reading a one-page biographical essay, write in paragraph form how an African American has demonstrated a certain character trait.

Pupils read and analyze an extended definition in preparation for writing an extended definition of a CHARACTER TRAIT. They use analogy as a definition strategy to tailor writing to a particular audience. Finally, students SHARE writing...

What a great beginning-of-the-year activity! Get your class to identify their values through a three-page worksheet (included). Each speaker will craft a two-minute description that includes their story and how they can help their...

Introduce young thespians to all aspects of the theater. A syllabus for a one-semester drama course provides lessons that take learners from the history of drama to the many facets of play production.

Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. In this descriptive writing lesson, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an animal they want...

As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.

Third graders describe, represent and compare fractions using pieces of a chocolate bar.  In this fractions instructional activity, 3rd graders demonstrate how to read and write fractions correctly. Students then integrate...

What do you see? Young reader tap into the visualization process as they listen to or read a fiction story and fill out a graphic organizer. Model this first with a think-aloud, showing scholars how you visualize a familiar story. For...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...

Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details...

First graders write a descriptive paragraph about a friend.

Students read the book Because of Winn Dixie and then create a personal decalogue, which is a list of 10 personal beliefs. In this decalogue lesson plan, students then write a decalogue of a fictional character and write a story based on...

Pupils participate in various shared reading and writing activities related to the book "The Selfish Crocodile" by Faustin Charles. They identify descriptive words from the story, and write sentences describing how the crocodile behaves...

Pupils use artistic words when writing about an object moving quickly past a character who is standing still. In this writing and art lesson plan, students read the passage Chasing Vermeer and base their writing off of it.

Learners create a "Noh"-style mask, based on Japanese Noh theatre masks. They experiment with different colors of modeling clay and explore ways to show facial character.