Technology has undoubtedly improved the lives of people around the world—but has it improved communication? Seventh graders read two informative passages about the rise of texting and emailing versus in-person conversations before...

Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...

Teach your class five reading strategies to help them with reading informational texts and literary texts. This packet, designed to help learners prepare for the CAHSEE, provides specific strategies that could be used to help prepare for...

For this everyday editing worksheet, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about artist Grant Wood. The errors range from capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.

Speaking your mind and standing up for yourself is the message of Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Speak. Readers review key details about characters, setting, and plot points with a crossword puzzle all about Speak.

Carlos Fuentes’s The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait and Jaspre Bark’s Journal of Inventions: Leondardo da Vince serve as models for an assignment that asks class members to create a personal journal they will use...

What is the difference between an adjective and an adverb? Encourages scholars to explore the answer to this question while building a foundation of the English language. The lesson comes complete with an attention grabber, notes, and a...

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

Should junk food be banned in schools? Should the US open its borders to all immigrants? Should the US impose term limits for the House of Representatives and for the Senate? Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas...

Make breaking a leg a less troublesome experience. Groups brainstorm designs for crutches that have devices that help carry items. They build prototypes of their devices to test out their designs.

Although the work Americans do has changed over time, the plight of the American worker has largely remained the same. Facilitate a class discussion aboutAmerican workers using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and...

"I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." This colored view is the focus of a close reading activity that asks readers of The Great Gatsby to examine the way...

Jeannette Walls' memoir, The Glass Castle, grapples with the idea that loving someone may or may not include forgiving them for their past behavior. Take a look at a crossword puzzle that reviews characters, plot points, and key details...

The Yukon provides plenty of opportunity for adventure. A study guide for The Call of the Wild by Jack London, also the author of White Fang, helps readers navigate the novel which is set in Yukon, Canada. Chapter summaries give a...

While the themes of Julius Caesar may appeal to most readers, the act of reading the play can be a challenge. A unit plan related to the popular play by Shakespeare provides lesson plans and activities designed for differentiated...

A pack of hungry wolves surround a panicked buffalo – who will come out alive? Have your young writers narrate this nature scene, taking the point of view of either a wolf or the buffalo. Perfect for a narrative writing unit or for...

Engage your pupils in a seres of journalism activities. For this journalism lesson plan, learners practice with AP style, analyze an article, practice writing leads, work with organizing information, and take a stab at writing headlines....

A teacher's guide for Kindred provides instructors with a wealth of materials to enrich either a full-class reading or independent study of Octavia E. Butler's popular science fiction novel. The activities are designed to...

Get in touch with the emotional side of writing by reading Words By Heart. The writing assignment helps learners make personal connections with the text and hone their writing skills by exploring a time that they had to forgive...

Looking at literature through a critical lens helps readers connect the text to the larger world. An essay examining the theme "There is no ill in the world without a remedy" forms the main part of a sample comprehensive English...

Pupils write an article that presents the student's view in the situation of a high school football team forfeiting all of its victories because of a paperwork glitch. Students research the rules of the state athletic association.

Eighth graders discuss their plans for after high school and complete a portfolio. Individually, they use the information from their portfolio to create puzzle pieces of their past to help them plan their future. In groups, they put...

Students create original pieces of poetry and use this as a basis for a photography series using "pin-hole camera" techniques. This high school lesson is cross-curricular in scope.

Need to review the five-paragraph format with your high schoolers? Although the presentation does not include a complete essay as a model, the concise definitions and explanations would serve as a good review before learners are assigned...