The beauty of the way this expository writing resource is structured is that the units can be presented as a complete writing workshop or sequenced throughout a course of study

Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles...

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...

Students observe the impact of natural disasters on humans, and become aware of the dangers of environmental hazards such as flash floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

Left-to-right, left-to-right, that's the way we read and write! Watch this short video clip and teach your young learners this chant before they start writing! 

Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...

Third grade readers are given clear learning goals with this Common Core checklist. By turning each reading standard into an I can statement, children can focus on mastering the required grade level skills.

Visible Thinking Routines are designed to help learners deepen their understanding of what they are learning and enable them to communicate their understanding of concepts to others. Individuals adopt one of these routines to use to...

As part of their study of the history of the Channel Islands, class members craft an informational article to post on a bulletin board that features the Chumash ancestral tradition of tomol paddling.

Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...

Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem. 

Hold a discussion in writing about coping strategies to prepare your pupils for reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman. After journaling, pupils come up in an organized fashion and write...

How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...

Who was Bill Picket? Interested readers work through an informational passage to find out about a famous "bulldogger" from the old West. They answer several reading comprehension questions and use a seven step process to decode new...

Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...

While the content of this lesson is more specific to the first grade, the directions given to work on a PowerPoint are well written. These directions could be used by anyone, with any content. Younger learners may need help reading the...

Have fun preparing a science podcast. After reviewing vocabulary, learners record audio files to create science vocabulary podcasts for particular units of study. A clever way to incorporate technology.

As part of a unit on Arizona's biotic communities, young ecology learners create a map. They describe how humans and animals adapt in their habitat. They take notes and create graphic organizers from articles they read. Beautiful maps,...

Explore nonfiction writing with your class. They will identify elements in nonfiction by reviewing elements of fiction. Then they use biographies, memoirs, menus, Time for Kids, and text books to identify elements of nonfiction. They...

Students research, design, rehearse, record, and present a 60 second Public Service Announcement, based on Columbus' arrival in the America. The students, working in groups, utilize the design process in creating their PSA. This lesson...

As a practice writing test, fourth graders use the West of the West's documentary Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island and two print resources as source materials for an informative article that identifies information that is...

Third graders pair up with a partner via an online classroom. They analyze half of the story "Enemy Pie" and communicate with their online peer to predict the outcome of the story.

Learners arrange illustrations in sequential order. In this text organization lesson, students access a webpage where they must follow the instructions to learn about the steps of pumpkin carving. Learners then click and drag...

The photograph, Nellie and her Italian Soda is viewed and discussed by the class. They are instructed to use the photograph as inspiration to write a poem about non-events, or things that are beautiful in every day life. Pupils use...