Work on making inferences with a reading passage and comprehension questions. After kids read a short paragraph about Jalisa's birthday, they infer why she would be excited about receiving gifts from her brother.

Round out your unit on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis with a series of reading comprehension questions. As kids read, they challenge each other to answer specific connection questions from the text.

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have captured the heart of readers since Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813. An eBook version of Jane Austen's novel gives learners a chance to read about the classic characters. 

Intended for a mature, advanced placement audience, this set of questions accompanies an essay by Fatema Mernissi regarding clothing size and the possible implications for not fitting in with what is considered the norm. A very...

What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...

Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project lesson.

Fifth graders encounter the TCI History Alive Assessment. Create a rubric together with other students. Use graphic organizers to brainstorm challenges that one would face attending school in a foreign country.

Young scholars investigate animals. In this animal research lesson, students choose an animal to research online and record facts from at least 3 types of resources. Young scholars complete a webbing tool, write a paragraph, and use MS...

Students write a five sentence paragraph with varied sentence beginnings. In this paragraph writing lesson plan, students use a teacher modeled procedure. They complete a worksheet about their favorite things, happenings, and places...

In this similes worksheet, students read a selection about similes and complete 10 similes. Students create five similes and write a paragraph using their similes.

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a paragraph about a family at the zoo. They then answer 5 true and false questions about the reading. Finally, students write a paragraph explaining how Mr. Chow can solve his problem.

Students examine the various types of architecture used in Mesopotamia. In groups, they identify how climate, resources and cultures affect where and how people live. Using a worksheet, they compare and contrast their house to the one...

Students compare and contrast two characters from the play The Diary of Anne Frank on a Venn diagram and write a paragraph showing similarities and differences.

Students examine the argument between Cassius and Brutus to define the importance of friendship and study a Shakespearean play. In this Julius Caesar analysis lesson plan, students list qualities of a best friend and read scenes from the...

Students read and analyze the book, Gulliver's Travels. They develop a reading folder, identify the main story elements, compare/contrast Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput and Brobdingnag, and write a paragraph about the main characters.

Students examine theatrical lighting instruments to see how light is controlled, and write a paragraph telling of their discoveries.

In this descriptive writing learning exercise set, 4th graders discuss places they would like to go to get away. They fill in a pre-writing learning exercise in which they describe the place they would go. They finally write a...

Introduce your young writers to the five-paragraph expository essay format with a four-page worksheet that uses color codes to model for writers how to craft the essay. Although designed to prepare writers for the GED, the approach can...

Elementary schoolers explore writing conventions. First they play a ball toss game to practice spelling high frequency words. (A link to a 2nd grade list is attached.) The class works together to correct spelling, punctuation, and...

A handout to guide peer editors, this checklist delineates common problems with paragraph structure and specific proofreading items to check. It also provides encouragement about the collaborative part of the writing process. Formats...

To better understand how to compose a clear and well-organized paper, learners read short passages, write summaries, and make colored graphic organizers. This is a fully developed three-day lesson with suggested assessments.

Students create a short report using all the steps in the writing process including a bibliography. They explore different pictures that relate to their topic and download an image for the internet into their report. A helpful rubric is...

Young writers choose a person from American history, their community, or their family to use as the subject of a persuasive essay. The process begins with a discussion of the characteristics of a hero, the completion of a prewriting web,...

After each of three viewings of a 45-second video, aspiring writers employ vivid adjectives and precise, strong verbs to "show, don't tell." First they compose a single sentence, then three, and finally a five-sentence paragraph. Repeat...