A 7-lesson unit where students critically analyze how a film adaptation portrays a novel to see what impact it had on the retell of the story. They then design a movie DVD cover and write a DVD insert based on what they have learned. The...

Find a rationale, practices and strategies, and resources for incorporating writing in all areas of the curriculum. Learn how to write clear assignments and some methods to make grading of writing more efficient and effective....

Well-integrated sources build credibility in several ways: Source material adds evidence and support to your argument, the signal phrase highlights the reputation and qualifications of the source, and effective citation makes it easy for...

The advantages to incorporating visuals into a multimedia presentation are explained. SL.9-10.5 Audio Visuals. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5, SL.11-12.5 Audio Visuals

This lesson is a workshop for writers. This idea was taken from the Ralph Fletcher book: What a Writer Needs. Students create a character, either real or fictional, and place that character in a scene in order to write about their...

This slideshow focuses on supporting details; it discusses their purpose, the audience, and the point to be made. It lists the five most common types of supporting details: facts, statistics, opinions, examples, and personal observations...

This slideshow tutorial focuses on adjusting writing style to fit the audience. It looks at audience characteristics and discusses how to adapt the vocabulary, sentence style, and tone to fit them. It provides an example using the topic...

This is a research-based article concerning how to best teach academic vocabulary. Research finds that most teachers assign and mention vocabulary, but to be effective, instruction must be direct and meaningful. Recommendations for...

A lesson plan in which students read short texts and sort them according to purpose: persuade, inform, entertain, and explain. Materials are included. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6

This table offers 50 or so common roots, prefixes, and suffixes, their definitions, and sample words in the content areas. L.9-10.4b Patterns/word changes

This site provides a collection of reading strategy teaching resources. Strategies are arranged according to the ELA Common Core Curriculum Standards and grade level bands.

Links to 10 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard L.4.5b: Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.

Contains plans for seven lessons that teach young scholars to use more expressive synonyms in their written and oral language. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains printable resources for the lessons...

This site presents writers with information about appropriate resources to use when writing research papers and useful tips on how to find these resources. Students can read through a vocabulary section to learn the definitions of common...

Don't believe everything that is read on the Internet! So many people around the world follow the news, all news, that they find posted on social media. Some news is real, some news is fake. How much of the fake news might have...

This resource provides information about the process of desktop publishing, including the principles of layout and design.

This tutorial focuses on the use of commas in nonessential elements whether they are words, phrases, or clauses. Links to practice exercises are provided.

Find instructions, forms, and inspiration to help students to share their reading excitement with the class.

Lesson that teaches middle schoolers how to find important and significant information while reading text. After locating information through strategies, students learn how to summarize content-area text. A downloadable fishbone template...

Contains plans for one 50-minute lesson that teaches about using dialogue tags like "he said" or "she answered." In addition to student objectives and standards, these instructional plans contain links to PDF handouts and links to sites...

This online resource offers historical photographs and illustrations on a wide variety of topics.

This collection looks at an image and phrase used widely in abolitionist materials, and at how that symbol was adopted and adapted by Sojourner Truth and/or other women's rights activists. Students will examine an abolitionist medallion...

This site provides the viewer with a step-by-step guide to writing critical reviews for non-fiction works. Its steps include analyzing the assignment as well as writing a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Links to other writing...

Lesson allows for middle school learners who are familiar with researching electronic sources to gain a deeper understanding of the benefits of online resources versus traditional print.