Fourth graders use a four-square graphic organizer to plan a paragraph writing about a wheelwright. Using gathered research from the previous unit, young writers discover how to organize a plot in preparation for writing a historical...

Pupils plan for a historical fiction narrative based on their previous research on expert trades from the Colonial Era. Individuals use the four-square graphic organizer to organize the information they want to be detailed in their four...

Young writers use the four-square graphic organizer to draft their historical fiction narratives' first, second, third, and fourth paragraphs on the wheelwright. The instructional activity promotes discussion and modeling of what makes a...

Young historians use their planning graphic organizer to prepare a personal narrative draft on expert trades. Since the instructional activity is considered the mid-unit assessment, learners respond to a writing prompt related to the...

Promote collaboration in the classroom with a historical fiction instructional activity. Fourth graders partner up and read the other's narrative to give feedback on vocabulary choice and the accuracy of historical information. After...

Are you looking for a way to teach sequence of events in your narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson plan to your middle school class, as it prompts young writers to create a narrative sequence map of events that have happened at...

During the eighth instructional activity in a historical fiction unit, pupils practice thoughtfully transitioning their ideas sequentially. After the teacher models how to add these transitions using the Wheelwright draft created in a...

This is both a great idea and a great way to help your class organize a themed project. They use these worksheets to assist them in writing a creative historical narrative about the life and travels of an explorer. They'll compare and...

Was justice served for Bobby Franks? An informative article about the 1924 trial of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold includes an overview of the murder of Bobby Franks, the defense’s legal strategy, and excerpts of closing arguments from...

Middle schoolers research child labor using Internet resources. They present the information in a creative writing piece and post it on Chalkboard.

Groups of learners get together and are given copies of the state quarter reverses from the 2002 US Mint issue. Each pupil makes up a story that's based on the scene that appears on the reverse side of the quarter. The goal is for all...

Evaluating a variety of narrative texts can help build strong writers. Pupils identify plot elements and their relation to personal experience, then apply what they gleaned from the class discussion to create their own narratives.

Fighting a war over home soil makes a living nightmare even more real. Class members describe the experience of a Civil War soldier during the Battle of Franklin, poised right at a major turning point of the war, after researching the...

Students investigate Chinese culture by reading their folk tales.  In this creative writing lesson, students practice identifying the different elements in a folk tale and examine the related vocabulary.  Students organize...

Seventh graders examine the importance of being organized when making transitions. In this organization lesson, 7th graders watch a teacher demonstration of entering a room in a disorganized manner before discussing how the transition...

Students read sections of Mackenzie King's diary. King was the Prime Minister of Canada during WWII. They relate the importance of keeping a diary.

To conclude a study of social justice and tolerance designed to prepare classes for a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, class members brainstorm a safe and peaceful world. They then write about their own vision of this world.

Bring the drama of history to life in your class and give your learners the opportunity to illustrate their understanding of a historical situation through the medium of a dialogue and/or play. Your young historians will consider a...

Students analyze captivity narratives written between the 1600's and 1800's. In this narrative lesson, students think critically about the interaction between Native peoples and the settlers to understand the cultural beliefs held by...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

Introduce the class to the Civil Rights Movement by taking a critical look at the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. They will pay close attention to the role women played in organizing the boycott and bringing national attention to the...

Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...

Students become familiar with the ways slaves reacted to educating themselves.  In this postbellum and freeman lesson, students complete readings from chapters in the book Up From Slavery.  Students write about the...

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...