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...

Students study how to create a compost heap. In this composting lesson, students create a compost heap. Students write an essay describing the process.

Discover, document and share the knowledge of family food and ways special occasions are treated. Your class will explore the context in which food traditions are created and adapted in their families and communities. Each student also...

How many people immigrate to Spain illegally each year? Both the United States and Spain see a lot of illegal immigration. Advanced learners will read various articles, compare and contrast the situation in both countries, and discuss...

Third graders write an essay which answers the question, "What kind of student do you want to be?"

Students feel items in a bucket and describe them using descriptive words. For this sensory descriptive lesson plan, students use words such as smoothe, rough, and bumpy.

Fourth graders engage in a lesson which teaches the parts of an expository essay and how to organize and write an expository piece from a given topic. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which...

Students analyze the plot of the story, "The Little Engine That Could" to provide a model for writing creatively, developing critical essays, producing themes, and making predictions.

Students explore the derivations and usage of common slang terms. Through internet research and discussion, students consider the Latin and Greek roots of contemporary slang terms. Groups complete an etymology chart documenting their...

Students explore life and language development in the Elizabethan Age. For this English lesson students complete web-quests and other activities surrounding Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Read The Horse Dealer's Daughter and The Rocking Horse Winner by D. H. Lawrence, then write an essay comparing and contrasting the two stories. Learners choose some aspect to write about, such as themes, characters, setting, or plot.

What do you want to do when you finish school? Most high schoolers have an idea of what they'd want to do, but little idea of how to achieve this goal. After researching a career of their choosing, learners identify qualifications,...

Learners read stories, look at maps, and write journal entries to learn about the language and artwork of Nahuatl culture. In this Nahuatl culture lesson plan, students research the Nahuatl culture and present their findings.

Students review research skills and determine an aspect of war to research. They research an aspect of a war experience and bring history to life through iMovie.

Investigate the techniques used in a persuasive argument. Young writers compose a persuasive argument persuading their principal to take their class on a trip to the location of their choice. They then create a persuasive web site.

Students investigate the essays and life of Thoreau in order to appreciate his point of view and understand his way of thinking. They participate in various activities and writing assignments to gain a similar perspective. Students write...

Students create a timeline which includes four important events from their own life, two national events and two world events. They write an essay highlighting the four events included on the timeline.

Eighth graders study the basics of photography and practiced five different modes of writing, required seven photos.

Pupils write an essay about previous studied lessons that is applied to the Japanese American experience. They have to role play being a Caucasian, or Nisei in California at a given time based on what they have studied. What would...

High schoolers use photographs of bridges to learn how to write well.

In this solutions worksheet, students read about how people first learned to use metals and to combine metals to form alloys. Students write an essay telling the story of how ancient people first learned to cause physical changes in metal.

Students discover how to travel from one learning center to another by participating in a human train activity. They sing a song which highlights the center activity as they travel along from center to center.

Students discover details about the rise of civilizations. In this Roman history lesson, students watch "Civilizations: Rise to Power," and read primary sources from different periods of the empire's history. Students write essays that...

Students examine migration patterns in Africa and China. They watch excerpts from a documentary, define key vocabulary words, complete various student organizers, and create a poster.