The fifth installment in a writing unit that culminates with a Hyperstudio illustrated group story project, this plan is ripe with ideas for ways to design group writing projects for elementary writers. Use the whole unit as a base from...

Students determine the workings of the Braille alphabet and how people with visual impairments learn how to use it. For this Braille lesson, students study the associated vocabulary, read about Helen Keller, and complete associated...

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...

Develop a better understanding of "Blackbeard's Ghost" with this differentiated lesson. Working in groups on a creative project, middle schoolers can reinforce their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. Use this...

Enhance the reading experience with a set of lessons designed to improve textual analysis. Seventh graders use guiding questions to read both informational text and literature closely in the first part of the unit. Next, they work on...

Do you know what the plan is? Scholars are now ready to complete the final instructional activity of independent research before finalizing their plans. Ultimately, they turn in all research tool sheets and frames and organize their...

Preparation is the key to success! Using the guiding resource, scholars plan their end-of-unit analytical essays' introductory and concluding paragraphs based on their reading of Inside Out & Back Again. To prepare, they complete a...

Invite your class to consider how to respond to a conflict. Designed to be used alongside Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado, a lesson plan focuses on a set of terms: conflict, escalate, deescalate, conflict resolution, denial,...

The second lesson in a historical fiction series encourages pupils to develop a character profile of a colonial person using research acquired in the previous unit. Learners prepare their historical fiction narrative by responding to a...

Study some of the most prominent poets and works of poetry in history with a language arts poetry unit. From Virgil to Shakespeare to Dickinson to Angelou, the resources present biographies and examples of poetic elements to...

Kids love to pretend. Use this imaginative energy to develop their understanding of characterization. Class members dress up as a character from their novel-writing project and sit for a filmed interview. In responding to questions about...

November is National Novel Writing Month, so if your young authors are embarking on this journey, be sure they understand plot elements. This collaborative lesson plan fits into the context of the larger NaNoWriMo project; however, the...

Should Internet users who send data-heavy content pay higher fees than those who are involved in activities, like sending an email, that have less content? This question is at the heart of the Net Neutrality debate. After watching a PBS...

Examine writing using a fun, interactive format. Young writers choose a piece of their own writing to proofread for initial capitals and final periods they left out. They work independently using green stickers to add capitals and red...

Not only is this lesson about story retell, main events, and making predictions, it's also about plants. Youngsters will read the tale, The Tiny Seed as they explore the plant life cycle and early literacy skills. The lesson is very...

Here's a fresh approach to the dreaded personal narrative required by most college applications. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the anchor text for a unit that, through modeling and guided practice exercises, encourages the...

What a way to end the day! Class members recall important events that occurred throughout day. These events are posted on the chart board for class members to copy into their Homework Book. Books are sent home for parents to read, sign,...

You can often track a character's development based on others' reactions to their words or actions. Using Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," ninth graders work in a jigsaw activity to analyze how Mirabella's...

The balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet takes center stage as class members consider the structural choices Shakespeare makes, i.e., having Romeo appear first in the scene and having Juliet appear unaware that Romeo is listening to her...

"O, I am fortune's fool!" As they continue their analysis of Act 3, scene 1, class members consider the role of fate in the events. The lesson concludes with a viewing of a brief portion of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, in which the...

To prepare for the unit's final assessment essay, class members collaborate to find evidence that reveals Romeo and Juliet as tragic heroes.

What are the qualities of a strong written response to a prompt? Class members use the provided text analysis rubric to self-assess their responses to their homework assignments to prepare for the mid-unit assessment.

The Sugar Changed the World chapter, "The Sound of Liberty," highlights how the differing attitudes toward the slave trade shifted the issue from an economic concern to a concern for human rights. The passage contrasts Thomas Jefferson's...

Scholars take a close look at evaluating sources and the information that comes from them. Learners review their research plans, use a handout organizer to learn how to take notes, and begin annotating correctly. They practice what they...