Are some resource books more confusing than helpful? The creator of Oregon Writes Open Writing Text thinks so. That is why the text remains a living document with input from teachers, librarians, and scholars. The eBook begins with...

Take young scientists on an exploration of the cosmos with this cross-curricular writing exercise. Tasked with producing an expository composition describing a planet of their choosing, students perform research and...

Opinion, audience, purpose. Fourth graders are introduced to the three characteristics of persuasive writing in the third unit of a year-long writing program. The 98-page packet is complete with plans, model essays, graphic organizers,...

Learners create poems and sound compositions using instruments, sounds, and pictograph notation. After listening Debussy's Children's corner suite, they brainstorm a list of snow vocabulary words. Students write poems and in groups...

Make sure your pupils exercise their grammar muscles with this collection of worksheets. Organized into units, the packet covers everything from the parts of speech to sentence structure to punctuation.

How do you think the parrot in "The Ghost" chapter of Matilda feels in the chimney? Put a class member in the hot seat and have the class ask questions relating to how they might have felt if they were the parrot in the chimney....

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...

In this online interactive English worksheet, students read "Doug's Birthday," and then respond to 40 fill in the blank and 10 true or false questions about the selection. Students may submit their answers to be scored. Students...

Brad Manning’s essay, “Arm Wrestling with My Father,” is used as the basis of an AP Language and Composition exercise. Readers identify the purpose of the essay, analyze the essay structure, evaluate the diction, and unpack the analogies.

In this online reading comprehension and writing instructional activity, learners read a letter asking for employment before answering 12 fill in the blank questions about the text formatting and vocabulary. They sequence 6 sentences to...

High schoolers examine how to write article summaries of abstracts. In this writing skills lesson, students edit the noted sections of an abstract that is already written on the Old Testament Abstracts.

Students write a composition comparing and contrasting two portraits. In this comparing and contrasting lesson, students will observe two portraits and compare them through their writing. They then will write a letter to the artists...

In this writing worksheet, students organize their thoughts for a story by creating an outline. Students use the rubric at the top to help ensure they have the components they need to write a great story.

In this writing worksheet, learners read about the use of verbs followed by gerunds, then write a paragraph in which they use 3 verbs and gerund nouns, writing about an activity they enjoy. 

Introduce and challenge the essay organization skills of your junior high writers with the paper reconstruction activity in this demonstration.  Theydetermine what the word organization means, and discover the basic organizational...

Fifth graders write a report. In this research lesson, 5th graders work in groups to complete an Internet scavenger hunt. Students research an area of health related to nutrition or exercise, write a report and present their report to...

Here is an art lesson that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the importance of...

By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...

This 13-page assignment was designed for English language learners and includes a one-page reading on the Taiwanese entertainer, Jay Chou, and 10 activities/exercises that address listening and reading comprehension, speaking, vocabulary...

Mark Twain's life, politics, writing, and role as a mirror of pre- and post-Civil War American culture are the focus 11th and 12th graders in this section from an expansive author study. A critical writing assignment comparing Twain...

Students explore the language of Shakespeare. In this literature activity, students examine words invented by Shakespeare as they interpret their meanings in drawings. Students pantomime the meanings and then write a short story...

What do writing and dance have in common? They both have a six-trait rubric for assessment. Just like a good story, a good dance must have a hook, beginning, middle, end,  logical sequence, and a climax. Learners use a...

Students develop a strategy for combining various ideas into well formed sentences which then combine to produce effective descriptive paragraphs.