Barbie has been an iconic figure in the lives of girls since the 1950s, but her existence has been full of controversy. A lesson plan on style, format, and genre explores that controversy by looking at three texts with different...

US Commanding General William S. Rosecrans led the Union soldiers and Confederate Commanding General Braxton Bragg led the rebel army at the Battle of Stones River. Young historians compare how the leadership styles of these two...

A collection of writing prompts are so fun, you'll want to finish them yourself! Learners practice narrative prose and poetry skills with prompts that twist traditional structure, provide wild vocabulary, and encourage pupils to...

Pronouns are the most helpful parts of speech! Model the ways that interrogative, indefinite, personal, and demonstrative pronouns can specify meaning and enhance writing with a hands-on activity.

Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project activity.

An English language arts unit closely examines spelling, grammar, reading, and writing skills. Scholars practice spelling patterns and tricky words. A read-aloud details the War of 1812 and introduces adverbs, and a close reading looks...

Focusing on writing an introduction, this presentation provides a variety of techniques for how to begin. Although the question marks on slide six obscure the writing, the other slides are clear and legible and display good examples for...

Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...

Explore early writing systems and their significance in understanding the development of past civilizations. In groups, learners research early writing systems and then present their findings to the rest of the class. They teach their...

Learning how to write a persuasive letter is a challenging, but fun writing style to learn.  You can use this PowerPoint to introduce your class to persuasive writing. It provides a checklist, language features, and an example to...

Help your students mix up their writing with different kinds of sentences with this PowerPoint. Each slide gives a brief definition of the various types including: declarative, interrogative, imperative, and more! There are also examples...

After researching issues involving panthers, middle schoolers practice writing persuasive letters.  They  become familiar with a controversial issue related to panthers and write their position on the issue. This...

Students write 1-4 sentence answers to the Time Travel worksheet (available online). They design period costumes, orally present their perspectives to the rest of the class, and explain why this war played an important role in the...

To better understand early American literature, which was usually written by Puritans coming to the new world, learners pretend they have just landed on Mars. They compose a letter home describing their experiences, the new landscape,...

Students examine some of the author's writing traits and then make an effort to incorporate his style into their own writing. They show how richly written literature can be used as a mentor text, or model, for improving one's own writing.

December writing activities galore! With everything from poetry to research to descriptive writing to writing about things that represent December, there's no way you will run out of options.

But this is math—we don't need to know how to write! The article makes a point that class members in AP® Statistics should be comfortable writing as the exams require it. Individuals quickly realize that quality writing is crucial...

Writers compose an original shape poem. Scholars choose a subject to write about and create a visual representation by forming a corresponding picture using the poem's words.  

Viewers of the short documentary Santa Cruz Del Islote consider how changes in climate and overfishing impact the life style of the 1,200 residents of a small island off the coast of Cartagena, Columbia.

Pre-writing activities are covered to help your students examine topics and personal experiences. Your class will discover how to choose topics which create a strong piece of writing and incorporate personal knowledge.

Start a writing lesson by examining a news video that explains writing clearly, concisely, and correctly. Learners consider the importance of writing news properly to avoid breaking the law, then write their own weekend news stories.

Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...

From Cinco de Mayo to Endangered Species day to National Hamburger Month, May is full of ideas to write about. Give young writers prompts that have everything to do with the month of May. Topics include writing a story, conducting...

How can people better understand their rights? Scholars explore the question with the second of four installments in the Introduction to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lesson plan series. Learners watch and write descriptions...