Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...

Get ready to review and revise! Scholars peer edit each other's literary analysis essay drafts. Next, using peer and teacher feedback, pupils compose their final drafts. 

Looking for some ideas for an end-of-year project for seniors? Here's one that asks seniors to highlight what they learned during their four years of high school.

The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...

What, where, how? Readers hone their analysis skills as they determine the narrator's point of view in Eight Days. They complete a literary analysis chart and essay to describe what and where events take place. Individuals then discuss...

Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...

Students in upper-level college-bound English classes review the editing process and terms such as, tone, diction, transition, and conclusion. They read and evaluate a sample essay and identify parts they feel they could improve on. ...

Students investigate the concept of winter as a season and they write an essay as a reflection upon the acquiring of new information. The class should have a list of vocabulary or a word wall available for observation to aid in the...

Middle school environmental science classes research the threatened, endangered, and extinct organisms listed for their state. They design and construct a poster of the information gleaned and write an essay about how they might be able...

Students are read the book "Perfect Pancakes". They write a paper about how to make a bowl of cereal. They state the items they need and the steps involved. They write each part of the paper in different colors to help distinguish them.

Young scholars can then pinpoint problems the characters experience and interview their parents to see if they too may have once faced a similar problem. Interviews with family members can be recorded by students in their home language.

Students edit and critique essays. In this editing and critiquing lesson, students examine a sample essay and edit it. Students read the essay aloud to determine the areas that need to be revised. Students then write their own essay for...

What is your attitude on health and illness? By considering their own experiences, students will reflect on and discuss their attitudes toward health and illness while educating each other by researching illnesses in small groups,...

Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...

A standard peer editing activity, young writers get into groups and pass their papers to each of their peers in turn; each person checking their peer's paper for spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes. In a fun twist, your class...

Learners study Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Three Kings Day. They research the holidays on the Internet and write compare/contrast essays. Using Microsoft Word to type their essays, they incorporate images that represent the holidays.

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

English learners practice basic weather terms from listening to two books. They keep a daily weather record for two weeks to record the type of weather, as well as the high and low temperatures for each day. Next, they complete a simple...

If you plan to utilize the ABC miniseries, "The Path to 9/11" in your classroom, consider incorporating media literacy and research skills. After (or while) learners view the series, they discuss ways information can differ from source...

Students write a news feature about the changes of the SAT and how students can best cope with them. Students respond to several questions addressing the new SAT. Students research about the changes in the test, and students interview...

Students study Ancient India and the vocabulary, language, and everyday life associated with India. They build a time capsule representing their own world for future civilizations to discover. They create labels for each item, giving a...

Students explore the significance and geologic history of the Kerguelen Plateau Large Igneous Province, as revealed by Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Legs 120 and 183. They examine all the source material and write an essay addressing the...

Students explore the origin and distribution of oil and gas in a region of global significance, the Middle East including the geologic history and the socio-political and environmental issues associated with hydrocarbon exploration and...

Young scholars explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...