Comparing two texts can build a greater understanding of the texts and themes of the works. Take some time to follow the steps here to guide your pupils through the process of composing compare-and-contrast essays.

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Conduct a written literary discussion and diminish stress about public writing. Class members, already arranged into literature circles, compose and post responses to novels, signing with initials or class number. The process continues...

Inspire scholars to reach for the stars with a handy two-page document that details why setting goals is important, how to begin the process, and three steps to set and meet goals. 

Use powers of 10 to convert between fractions and decimals. Pupils convert decimals to fractions by using place values in the 13th installment of a 25-part series. Class members reverse the process and find equivalent fractions with a...

A set of instructions and a 100-point grading rubric have been designed for writing lab reports. Appropriate for middle schoolers, this lays out what to include for each of the six steps in the scientific method: title, hypothesis,...

Ask your class to demonstrate their understanding of sequence. The graphic organizer provides five boxes for events and a few prompts to get kids started. Arrows point from one box to the next, demonstrating the progression of one item...

Students plan and write paragraphs while integrating other core subject areas. In this paragraph writing lesson, students complete 5 lessons to practice writing paragraphs. Students incorporate various core subjects into their paragraph...

Students decide which issues are most important to their student body and work in cooperative learning groups to write editorials. In this editorial writing lesson, students brainstorm a list of the most important issues and bring...

Young scholars explore the five senses and how to incorporate them into their writing to make it come to life. In this descriptive writing lesson plan, students must describe objects by touching them without seeing, and describe...

Fifth graders explore equations. In this solving equations lesson, 5th graders examine visual examples of writing and solving equations. Students also practice solving problems that their instructors model.

One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...

Explore poetry, personification, and multiple languages with a poetry reading and writing lesson. After the teacher reads the poem to the class, a discussion about personification follows. The class then writes a collaborative poem...

Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...

Provide Ant-Man with a flying device to aid in fighting crime. The first installment of a five-part unit has learners designing and building a flying device for Ant-Man. They write a narrative essay describing the engineering process...

A handy TFDC (topic/fact/detail/conclusion) graphic organizer (included) allows young writers to outline and record their main ideas and supporting details in the prewriting phase. They then continue to add details to the topic sentences...

One way to assess improvement in writing is to conduct a district-wide assessment program. This resource details the Wisconsin Dells approach to assessing freshmen 6+1 Traits writing. The format could be adapted to any district or used...

Fourth graders write a "how to..." or an expository essay on building a snowman. They practice giving directions by explaining how to draw a person using shapes without mentioning that it's a person being drawn. They revise through the...

Upper grade and middle school writers study the art of parody. In this language arts lesson plan, learners study the work of Lewis Carroll, read and discuss parodies from the book, Alice in Wonderland, and construct their own parody...

Sixth graders investigate the steps of mummification. In this ancient Egypt lesson, 6th graders listen to a SMART Board aided lecture to view how mummification works as well as the meaning behind the ritual. Students then complete a...

Students analyze and evaluate an essay and write a character description.  In this character description lesson, students read and analyze an essay in a teacher-led lecture.  Students  brainstorm then write a...

Students discuss technical writing and its importance in the work place and review the definition of technical writing They evaluate technical writing examples and look for characteristics of effective technical writing. They conduct a...

Combining visual and language arts, here is a resource that prompts middle schoolers to write stories based on pictures of their surroundings. They use digital cameras to take pictures of favorite areas in the school. Next, they choose...

Designed for teachers, this resource identifies problems learners face when attempting a research project and approaches instructors can use to help their class members overcome these obstacles. Suggestions are included for how to help...