This lesson focuses on teaching high school students to write a movie summary that provides a plot summary without sharing too much of the storyline but includes the following: brevity, conflict, theme, tone, and persuades others to want...

This multi-day jigsaw activity engages students in summary writing. Students will work in small groups after direct instruction and write short summary paragraphs. Students will refer to the 'Five Rules For Writing a Summary' chart for...

Inspired by the picture book How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long, an enthusiastic tale that explores the pros and cons of being a pirate, learners will research an interesting job and prepare to write about it. While researching, the...

In this lesson plan, students will engage in this post-reading strategy for a nonfiction or a fiction piece. Each student will take notes on a four-square square graphic organizer about something they already knew, something they found...

This Indiana University of Pennsylvania Writing Center site provides tips to writing a strong conclusion to an essay. The article discusses incorporating an anecdote, a basic summary, a startling summary, famous ideas, and/or hints to...

Interesting online instructional activity that offers a twist on the traditional book report. Middle schoolers use bookmarks online to justify their preferences and offer analysis of text; they use summaries and symbols to write and...

This site presents information about the necessary parts of a scientific research report. It also contains a sample abstract and introduction.

This instructional activity engages students in reading comprehension and measurement activities related to Rod Clements's book, Counting on Frank. Students will write a summary about what the character found to measure. Students will...

In this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine the artwork in Lasceaux Cave in France via Internet and illustrate a chapter summary from Brian's Winter by Gary Paulson in "caveman style."

Although this lesson focuses on college writing, it fits perfectly into the high school curriculum without being too difficult to understand. It provides types of essay writing assignments and how to handle each, strategies for writing...

This Daily Teaching Tools resource provides a series of graphic organizers. Students will be able to plan the writing of summaries, paragraphs, and literary responses.

This is an assignment to write a detailed 850-word explication over one of two passages in Shakespeare's Othello. In the assignment, he explains what an explication is and is not and how to go about writing one. He also explains exactly...

Students research the feasibility of installing a wind-turbine distributed energy (DE) system for their school. They write a proposal (actually, the executive summary of a proposal) to the school principal based on their findings and...

This Bibliomania website provides access to the full text of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Kidnapped." A summary note is included.

Here's a site from the Capital Community College to show the correct and incorrect way to use or not use commas.

"Labor Day Address: Barack Obama Speech" is a one page, campaign speech by Barack Obama given on August 24, 2008, in Billings, Montana. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...

This site shows exactly how to write a memo. The site talks about the components to use: header, purpose, summary, discussion, action.

This Bibliomania website features the full text of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." A summary note about Stevenson's novel of the nature of good and evil is included.

A short explanation of how summarize an informational text. Click on the Model link to see an example summary with explanation.

A complete guide from the Capital Community College to diagramming grammar sentences.

This detailed site provides a guide for reading "The Pioneers" by James Fenimore Cooper. Includes background information about the book, a description of the setting and form, a list and description of principal characters, and...

Inspired by Barry Lane's book 51 Wacky We-Search Reports, in this cross-curricular instructional activity students learn how to summarize properly.

Having trouble studying for tests or comprehending new material? This in-depth guide provides a multitude of ways to help you acquire reading and critical thinking skills necessary for understanding new material.

This site provides the full text of Dickens' "Bleak House." A brief summary is also included.