Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places...

A fun activity that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers. What toy is a...

Review concepts of cloning and genetic engineering and participate in a round-table discussion based on the ethics and potential of cloning with your class. Each learner then writes a formal essay on the topic, stemming from the debate.

Students improve their writing skills by identifying people, places, ideas, and things that are important to them. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss things that are important to them. Students use the heart map template to...

Explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. Writers develop pages for a basic writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common writing errors. A great way to...

Young journalists write diary entries from the point of view of a person involved in a historical event. They focus on including facts, clear narration, and accurate description of the individual's feelings. 

High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a...

Learners read short paragraphs, summarize the passage in one sentence, and then develop an appropriate title that indicates the main idea of the selection. Part of a series of exercises designed to build literary skills.

Students create snowflake similes, Kwanzaa plaques, menorah banners, and more for the month of December. In this December activities lesson plan, students also analyze characters in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...

Help learners improve their spelling skills by completing a word analysis activity. They complete the instant activity by finding the hidden words inside each given word. There is a menu of skill ideas and various ways suggested to...

Learners read and discuss "Defending Affirmative Action With Social Science," examining the admissions policies in public universities and colleges. They write persuasive essays either for or against the admissions policies in their state.

Personify your Inner Editor. After making a richly detailed paper doll of your Inner Editor, put him or her in your locker, under your bed or buried in a time capsule in your backyard, but not near where you like to write. Refuse to...

Experiment with light and dark in a series of interactive activities that lead up to reading and writing poetry. Class members have the opportunity to observe their feelings while sitting in the light and dark and to play with shadow...

Tenth graders write a poem. In this poetry lesson, 10th graders read the poem The Road Not Taken written by Robert Frost, answer discussion questions, add new stanzas to the poem and share them with the class.

In this grade 5 language arts test book 1 worksheet, 5th graders read 4 passages, answer 20 multiple choice comprehension questions in standardized test format, then write a paragraph with supporting details.

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a passage and answer questions based on the main idea of the passage. Students answer 4 questions about the passage.

Students consider popular trends, such as rock fashion. They create designs for t-shirts that represent current pop culture and write pitch letters selling their ideas to the clothing industry in the year 2030.

Students sort out important information and create a visual framework for reviewing in the future. They organize a large quantity of information thus helping with learning and remembering details, cause and effect, comparison and...

Explore the inception and evolution of hip-hop music as a springboard for writing music reviews and researching other genres of music. Learners will read and discuss the Times' article, From Underground Music to Fashion Statement to then...

Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...

Study the impact and possible outcomes of the Exxon-Mobil merger in your language arts, social studies, or economics class. Secondary learners evaluate a series of graphs, write a paragraph interpreting the data, and engage in class...

Play a vocabulary game with words from an article about Savion Glover's contribution to the film "Happy Feet." Then, small groups of students design and create original movie advertisements using vivid vocabulary to give Glover the...

Students further their understanding of the United Nations inspections in Iraq. They develop flow charts to organize ideas for interactive scenarios about the inspections in which the choices made determine the outcome.