It's no secret, writing is a lot more enjoyable when it's about something we care about. This simple exercise engages children in producing original writing, while allowing them to share their personal interest with others.

Students explore the career of beekeeping. In this careers lesson, students examine the importance of the beekeeping industry. Students read stories about beekeepers and write comparisons. Students write a report on beekeepers and the...

This PowerPoint includes text describing the key elements of a community, as well as the unique features of a suburb, a city, and a town.  Illustrations and clip art are included depicting each type of community. Instructions for...

There are eight stages of an atrocity known as genocide, and it's important to understand how they are represented so we can fight against it in the future. As young historians watch video clips of ten Jewish Holocaust survivors'...

Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...

Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying...

Provide young readers with the extra support they need using this series of 10 literacy lessons. Following a repeated sequence of learning activities, these lessons engage children in expanding their vocabulary...

A straightforward graphic organizer is a great way to outline steps for any subject. Kids fill out 10 steps to describe a process or brainstorm writing, with small arrows indicating that one step leads to the next.

Readers organize and display three ideas that support a topic, as well as two details that support each idea. 

What's one way to make a good essay great? Revise! Scholars revise their drafts from a previous lesson plan to help write their final polished analytical essays about the universal refugee experience. They also practice properly citing...

How do writers use evidence from literary texts to support analysis and reflection? With instructional activity 17 of 20 from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, learners gather resources to prepare for an end-of-unit assessment....

Sixth graders practice paraphrasing. In this paraphrasing lesson, 6th graders read a paragraph and highlight the important words. They write a summary sentence of the paragraph making sure not to copy any sentences. 

Third graders, in groups, choose a research topic and generate questions to narrow their focus. They research the answers to their questions and develop correctly cited source cards that display appropriate bibliographic format.

Students write position papers on a form of alternative energy production. They use several class periods to develop and write their paper and them participate in an extensive peer review session.

Have your middle schoolers read through this outline about the Special Olympics program and then write a paragraph. This single-page assignment provides lines on which to write the expository paragraph. It makes good practice in writing...

In this ancient farming activity, students examine the 3 paragraph expository piece and fill in the 21 blanks within the paragraph with the appropriate 21 words from the word bank.

Students explore democratic practices in China. In this global studies instructional activity, students compare and contrast democratic values of the Chinese government with the American government. Students read provided articles...

Young scholars complete compare and contrast activities for two stories about racism and tolerance in the science fiction genre. In this literary analysis activity, students read a Ray Bradbury short story and Walter Mosley poem, watch a...

Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...

Pupils analyze the types of writing and answer questions about the writing genres. In this writing types instructional activity, students define and discuss the types of writing including expository, descriptive, persuasive, technical,...

Students study the causes and effects of King Philip's War. In this Native American history instructional activity, students examine the options that the Native Americans had in 1676 New England. Students weigh the pros and cons of the...

Students draft . In this writing skills writing selections. In this writing process lesson, students plan and draft persuasive and expository pieces following the provided guidelines. 

For this reading for understanding lesson, students underline information in a text that is important in identifying the main idea. This lesson provides good practice for students who usually have difficulty in finding the main idea in...

Fifth graders animate the Water Cycle using Sketchy on the handheld computers. They write an expository paragraph about the stages of the water cycle using "Word-to-Go" on the Handheld computers.