Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...

Consider the theme of beauty with discussion about what makes person beautiful and the well-known short film put together by Dove skin care. Class members examine some of the images from the film and discuss the message of the...

Here is a unit consisting of activities designed to challenge your scholars. The extended learning opportunities include planning a celebration, making a presentation to the class, poster making, writing poetry, a problem-solving...

Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...

First the class analyzes the painting, Rodeo-Pickup Man by Frank Mechau, then they get to work. They explore the painting through verbal descriptions, focusing on vivid language to describe detail. They then compose a written piece using...

Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...

Your young boaters will enjoy writing and solving inequalities, and representing the solution graphically in this task set in the context of renting a boat.

Research the characteristics of leaders who have used nonviolence to change society. The class then applies this information to their own community to find leaders with these same characteristics, creating a wall collage of pictures and...

Write narratives that include ideas, observations, or memories of an event or experience, and be sure to use concrete sensory details! Groups utilize a few of the famous I Spy books in order to create narratives that utilize sensory...

Are your pupils ready to move beyond a thesis statement by adding additional detail to their introductory paragraphs? Provide this handout to give your class some ideas for spiffing up their work. The page includes a sample paragraph...

Students explore the native cultures of the Americas, to learn some aspects of oral storytelling, and to share their knowledge with others. They, in groups, write a story that should say something important about the culture from which...

Third graders gain the necessary skills to write a descriptive paragraph. They see the evaluation and decision making process that are used in good wriitng. The bible is used to see illustrations and then used to paint a picture in...

Students discuss the importance of word choice in writing. In groups, they rank a list of words from one extreme to the other. After viewing an example, students apply their knowledge of word choice by writing a descriptive paragraph of...

Students determine the difference between major and minor details after researching animals and completing graphic organizers. They write descriptive paragraphs for classmates to guess what animal is being described.

Fifth graders, utilizing a thesaurus to identify alternative word choices and meanings, eat a sweet treat and then list eight different adjectives for each of the five senses. They then describe a sweet with at least then adjectives...

Eleventh graders investigate New Deal programs. In this Great Depression lesson, 11th graders read the provided source materials that detail the agendas of 3 New Deal agencies. Students complete the provided analysis sheets and then...

In this writing learning exercise, students explore and discover a variety of ways to help make writing more interesting and creative.

Fourth graders write from the perspective of a child in the colonial period. In this writing lesson, 4th graders create a fictional character living in the colonial period and write about daily life from their perspective.

Students add details to their writing. In this language arts lesson, students use details to enhance their writing. Students view a picture and write a paragraph about what they see. Students conference with another student to edit their...

Fourth graders explore the writing process by responding to a writing prompt. They practice responding to a given writing prompt. Students write about a daydream. They write two or three paragraphs about the topic.

Have your writers identify and use words that appeal to the senses. They create a chart of sensory words and record some of their favorites, then write a journal entry in which they describe eating at a restaurant using sensory details....

Introduce learners to allegorical art with four bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos. After modeling how to recognize bias and allegory in Bertos' Africa, class groups examine the other three sculptures in the series before creating...

A fun and quirky painting is analyzed for details in an art/literacy lesson. Youngsters look for colors, shadows, and details and then describe them using vivid language. They use the words from discussion to complete a fun Mad Lib-style...

Need some possible writing topics for your class? Look no further, this resource consists of a list of 24 writing prompts. Perfect for journal writing or quick writes, all 24 prompts ask about pupils' personal experiences and thus elicit...