How do you read when you know you're going to be summarizing a text? Summarize a nonfiction text with your upper elementary schoolers. Your pupils independently read a nonfiction article and write a summary paragraph using the six-step...

Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.

Upper elementary and middle schoolers recognize symbols that influence the choices that we make consciously or unconsciously in everyday life. They look at the symbols and choices that others make. They identify and apply knowledge of...

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

Support your learners during the speech-writing process with a five-page graphic organizer. Pupils have plenty of space to write in their evidence and arguments on this resource. The organizer provides some prompts for each section to...

It's no secret that children can be very opinionated, but rather than fight against this natural tendency, embrace it with this primary grade writing project. After a shared reading of a children's book about...

Examine character in depth. Over the course of these six lessons, learners explore their own character traits, determine the traits of characters in the books they read, practice comparing and contrasting, and collaborate in small...

To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...

Encourage your learners to examine the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay. Pupils work in small groups to put together a description of the setting before reading two more chapters of the book. They use their double-entry journals to...

Students explore nonfiction texts. In this language arts lesson, students read a nonfiction text and make predictions. Students identify facts and opinions in the text and draw conclusions as they read.

Students make predictions. In this language arts lesson, students read nonfiction texts and make predictions about what they are going to read. Students confirm and revise their predictions as they read the text.

In this paragraph structure worksheet, students read an excerpt about Europe and identify the sentences that focus on human characteristics as well as physical characteristics. Students rewrite the selection as two paragraphs that...

Children in first grade listen and read along with the teacher to practice main idea identification. They use the provided reading passages to read, locate the main idea and supporting details. This is a fully scripted lesson which means...

Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...

Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....

Improve your pupils' language skills with these discussions and activities. There are four topics included here, and each is paired with discussion prompts (small group and whole class), student handouts, and teacher notes. After...

Here is a rubric that can be used for your next current event assignment. It details what should be included in each paragraph of the event description and analysis, as well as other requirements for work habits and presentation.

Give your guided reading lesson plan a boost with a sample lesson plan designed to reinforce academic content covered in previous assessments. The sample plan describes how the story and activities were chosen and offers the...

Language learners use the debate format to practice formulating, expressing, and defending their ideas. Working in teams, class members develop resolutions, use opinion indicators to express their opinions and reasons, and prepare...

Investigate milestones along the path that lead to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. After researching key people, events, court cases, and legislative orders, teams present their findings as a magazine, newspaper, or...

Fifth graders review what nouns, pronouns and verbs are though grammar games. In this grammar lesson plan, 5th graders identify proper and common nouns, singular and plural nouns and verb agreement with nouns. Students make an original...

Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...

Learners observe and demonstrate the strategy of summarizing the main idea. They discuss six rules of summarizing, and observe the teacher summarizing the first chapter of the novel "The Incredible Journey." Students then read chapter...

Pupils review paragraph development, use of adjectives and grammar requirements. They incorporate various details in a written paragraph describing a visual image used as a writing prompt.