What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...

Sharpen those pencils; it's time to write! Scholars begin writing the first body paragraph of their literary analysis essays. Additionally, pupils use graphic organizers to analyze a character's point of view from Laurence Yep's...

Gun, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond is a seminal work of historical nonfiction from the late 20th century. Use the author's claims and supporting evidence to guide your high school seniors through their research project, culminating...

Writers work to create drafts of their end-of-unit assessments relating to A Mighty Long Way and Little Rock Girl 1957. Using computers to create the first versions of their essays, writers emphasize ideas and evidence before focusing...

Anybody can write a body paragraph! Pupils analyze the development of ideas in a body paragraph from a model essay. Next, using what they've learned, they draft the body paragraphs of their My Rule to Live By informative essay. 

Time is of the essence. Pupils spend time completing the first draft of their essays based on Katherine Paterson's novel Lyddie. Using everything they've learned throughout the unit, they craft their arguments about whether Lyddie...

Halftime! Scholars write the rough draft of their position papers to serve as the mid-unit assessment. At the end of the sessions, pupils turn in their rough draft essays and work on independent reading.

Fifth graders write a descriptive narrative about summer vacation. The use of this topic helps the lesson to have a high engagement level. Technology is infused in the lesson with the use of computers to write the report.

Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...

Time to pick a side! Building on the Fishbowl activity from the previous instructional activity, scholars choose a position about whether the American Academy of Pediatrics should raise its screen time recommendations. Using notes,...

Students analyze alcohol and tobacco ads and create parodies of them. The eight lessons in this unit include discussions about why teens smoke or drink, the psychology behind the advertising, and writing persuasive letters to agencies,...

When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...

Explore the paradox of the universe - or, at least, of popular music - with this lesson. Using the songs "Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson and "She" by Green Day, your class will complete a graphic organizer to help them understand...

Fourth graders use computer software, Kidspiration, to create a graphic organizer detailing main characters, setting, problem, solution, and theme of their favorite short story. Students also discover how graphic organizers can help them...

Students use the internet to research the production of manuscripts and books. Using this information, they create a research book full of tips to research effectively. They share their new book with the class after organizing the material.

Fifth graders reflect upon different concepts of Language Arts while reading literature. In the novel Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt, the characters discover a spring of eternal youth. After reading the first several chapters of...

Sixth graders explore scientific observations by analyzing a group of data. In this fingerprint identification lesson, 6th graders identify the reasoning behind fingerprinting and create their own ink fingerprints. Students discuss the...

Students research 1920's US History.  In this historical literature lesson, students use the novel The Great Gatsby as a tool to examine the era.  They work in individually to create newspaper articles based on different...