This instructional activity, which promises to improve the essays of your middle schoolers, contains a list of characteristics an essay should include. It breaks it down into the introduction, thesis statement, body, etc. There's also a...

Using rabbits as the theme, learners do research and create a class project. In this lesson plan, they begin by listening to Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe, then they do research on a particular breed of rabbit, and, finally, create...

Use the revision process to polish your writing. Writers prepare works for job portfolios that include cover letters, job applications, resumes, and letters of recommendation. Prepare them for the future!

After reading Chicken Soup with Rice, by Maurice Sendak, incorporate some of these great extension activities into your lesson plan. Ideas include focusing on knowing the months of the year, or studying the illustrations and how...

Students examine examples of the qualities of good writing skills and discuss how each of the traits add to the process of good writing. A variety of excerpts from literature provide samples for the exploration.

Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

While this resource is actually attempting to sell a product, the foundational ideas may be worth looking into. Using Braidy the StoryBraid doll, learners will gain a better understanding of beginning, middle, and end, as well as story...

Here is a way to build your pupils' public speaking abilities. The lesson describes a reader's report chair, which is used each week by a student who has just finished reading a book. The featured reader sits in the chair and talks about...

After reading a book on their own, pupils prepare an oral report on the book,  and sit in the "Readers Report Chair" when giving the report to the class. They are taught to briefly summarize the book by talking about one of two...

students examine the historical, political, religious and culture aspects of the Renaissance. Using this information, they read "Galileo" by Bertolt Brecht. They use the internet to research a specific event of the time period and come...

First graders examine the use of logic, deduction, and inference to determine the answers to riddles. They listen to a teacher read aloud of Heather Forest's, Stone Soup before discussing the story which gauges their comprehension....

Students read a novel and write short journal entries about the characters, setting and interesting facts. Using email, they share their responses to the novel with other students at a different school. Student also create slide shows...

The verbal and quantitative sections of the SAT can be a challenge for even the most erudite logophile. Prepare your test takers for the vocabulary they will encounter on standardized exams by providing them with a helpful list of roots,...

Students compare and contrast cookies. For this compare and contrast lesson, students complete a graphic organizer and identify the similarities and differences in Girl Scout Cookies. Students write an analysis.

Come December, practice syllable counting with the appropriate time of year! Using the winter theme, readers identify the winter picture, clap the number of syllables, and place the correct number of cotton balls next to the four...

Students create a narrative cartoon. In this narrative instructional activity, students use a Peace Corp website to collect information and photographs that they add captions to and use to create their own narrative cartoons.

Bring the enjoyable story of Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel to your young readers. After reading the story as a class, students answer questions about a reading and make a graphic organizer.  They make...

Although the ideas on how to implement the skill RI.9-10.2 are lacking, the assessment would work well for challenging learners to summarize, and identify the main ideas of presidential speeches that are of similar topics. One could use...

Enhance a class read-aloud of the children's story Hi! Fly Guy with this reading comprehension lesson. Children first listen as the teacher reads the story, stopping along the way to discuss any unfamiliar vocabulary. The book...

Fifth graders review notetaking skills and brainstorm a list of times when notetaking is important. They review a given text then take notes on writing paper, using the modeled style.

Students identify and use literary devices such as personification, idioms, hyperbole, and metaphors. They identify one literary device and illustrate the meaning. They write a letter using correct letter format and incorporates literary...

Middle schoolers examine the various forms of Islamic Art. Using the art, they identify the basic elements and research its history and style of calligraphy. They create a piece of art based on information they collected and...

Young scholars explore the use of imagery in writing. In this writing lesson, students create a writing piece that features sensory images without resorting to the use of clichés.

In this comprehension skills learning exercise, students read the book Ah, Music! and complete comprehension activities. Students complete 5 activities including note taking, locating information, theme, speculating, and cause and...