When it comes to testing, practice makes perfect. A set of free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition exam help writers prepare for the test. Three different prompts cover topics such as monolingual English...

Genetic modification is a hot topic in the science and political world. A complete unit gives learners an opportunity to research genetic modification, play an interactive genetic engineering simulation, and interact with the information...

Your parents were both in different countries. You were born in the US. Documents and application forms ask you to identify your racial or ethnic classification. Which box do you check? Class members collect documents...

Why are some so resistant to change? The status quo is often to blame for a lack of forward movement in society. Following the events of World War I, women in America suddenly had a voice—and were going to use it. Scholars use the...

Reading and comprehending a poem is a lot different than doing the same for a piece of fiction or an informational text. As part of a sample English language arts examination, readers put their skills to the test by reading passages in...

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...

Readers take all the information they gained from the last 19 lessons and complete an essay describing how King develops his purpose and claim in "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Pupils use a rubric and checklist to help guide their...

Start your engines! Prevent negative car buying experiences by arming pupils with information. Prepare your young drivers to make informed decisions when they are ready to purchase a car. All aspects are considered from the type of car...

Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...

The Women's Rights movement is the focus of an engaging and collaborative exercise, in which young historians use information found in textbooks, class notes, and the provided documents to craft a DBQ essay.

Young computer scientists create a visual artifact that represents their research into a computing innovation in the world of cybersecurity. They then work individually to write an essay on the impact of technology on cybersecurity.

Examine the process of summarizing a piece of text using the book So You Want to Be a President? Kids review the definitions for main idea, topic sentences, superordinate terms, and supporting details. Next, they work in small...

Shark! Scholars read about sharks in Facts about Sharks by Susanna Batchelor. They then pretend they are shark scientists and choose a shark they want to study. Learners research their sharks and record information in graphic organizers...

"True-crime stories, murder mysteries, up-to-the-minute online news reports, and (as always) rumor and innuendo grab our attention faster than any call for justice, human rights, or ceasefires." Or so says Walter Mosley in his Newsweek...

How do you know what traits a character displays in a story? Learners select a character and find list three traits for this character, explaining why they chose each trait. They then put this information together into a paragraph or essay.

Women rose to the challenge when the nation's war effort called them—but were sent home when the GIs came back from World War II. Young historians consider whether the United States valued women's contributions during the war using a...

Pupils examine the Florida Writes! Rubric and discuss the basic elements of the scoring system. In small groups, they use the rubric to discuss and score several student essays.

Students improve their essay writing skills using the subject of voting as a topic. In this writing essays lesson plan, students write expository essays to increase the weight of their vote in the 'Cast Your Vote Poll' for the...

Learners organize facts into categories and list the structure of a five-paragraph essay. They identify the main idea and outline the supporting details. In the class, students discuss how they organized their ideas and begin drafting...

Readers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are directed to complete two projects as a part of their study of Mark Twain’s novel.  Individuals craft an organized notebook containing all their work during the study, and they...

In this literature analysis worksheet, studnets read Dante's Inferno and write an introduction with a thesis statement. Students give a synopsis of the comedy and then write an essay. Students select from the five options to complete the...

A speaker, a message, an audience. After analyzing these elements in Queen Elizabeth's speech to the troops at Tilbury, groups analyze how other speakers use an awareness of events, and their audience to craft their arguments....

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...

After watching West of the West's documentary on Catalina Island, The Magic Isle, class members research how Walt Disney's and William Wrigley's different visions impacted the island.