Students locate and read an Internet article on sharks. They write a summary of the article, and complete a Concept of Definition Map using information from the article.

Students explore ways to write book summaries. In this summary writing lesson plan, students discover the steps for writing summaries of fictional books.

Students write an effective conclusion for their essay.  In this conclusion lesson students restate the thesis of their paper and summarize three important points.  Students then write a final statement to wrap up their...

Learners explore language arts by writing their own poems. For this haiku lesson, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Learners count the syllables in every line of a haiku poem and write...

Students create new sentences using adverb clauses identified from a book.  In this narrative writing lesson, students write new sentences from some of the dependent clauses used in a book read to them by the teacher.  Students...

Who is a champion to your class? Elementary and middle schoolers think of a role-model from their lives. Then, in their journals, they write evidence of that person's perseverance. They identify the character trait of perseverance with...

Third graders write a thank-you note and a formal letter of request that included relevant information, such as a return address, date, inside address, proper salutation, body, closing, and signature. They write an imaginary letter to...

Students participate in an environmental action letter-writing campaign. They conduct Internet research on the Global Response website, discuss various successful Global Response campaigns, select a campaign they are interested in, and...

Students investigate the dramatic elements of a Streetcar Named Desire. In this drama lesson, students explore the theme of the Tennessee Williams play as they read the play and watch performances of some of the acts. Students then write...

Imagine the surprise when small groups present their Evidence Charts to the class and discover that each group has studied a different version of the Cinderella story. Irish, Ojibwa, Egyptian, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Mexican, and...

Is The Iliad part of your curriculum? Check out a resource that offers something for those new to teaching the classic and those with lots of experience using Homer's epic. Plot summaries, discussion questions, activities abound in...

Foster your high schoolers' creativity - and generosity - with this writing lesson. After reading the article "Homemade Holiday Gifts" by Frances Janisch (from the GALE Student Resource Center - Gold), pupils meet in groups to brainstorm...

Beginning botanists view slides of plant vascular tissue. They watch Magic School Bus Gets Planted, which you can find online, and then write a summary of what they have learned about plants. This lesson could be used with upper...

Set a purpose for reading informational texts with this reading lesson. To find the central idea of a text, young readers turn titles and subtitles into questions to help them understand the text. They complete a T-chart for the lesson,...

Is a college education necessary for success in today's world? The class investigates the question, along with others at the end of the sixth workshop in a 15-part series. The lesson has four parts with multiple activities and...

Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...

Students examine how the Jamestown settlement changed the first few years after it was founded. They take a virtual field trip of Jamestown, read primary source documents, discuss census information, and write a summary of changes in...

Explore heritage and identity through an examination of art and a related project. The featured art, related to the African diaspora, includes several types of art created by different artists. Pupils consider their own backgrounds and...

Let's navigate! Using the informative resource, pupils perform a WebQuest on the benefits of Geographic Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems. Then, they write a brief summary describing how both systems benefit the...

Use picture cues as a tool in order to create meaning along with text. With a wordless comic, young illustrators discuss the main idea and character traits, and independently write a summary for a page of a wordless comic. This strategy...

View the video "Global Citizens: Canadians Reaching out to the World" with high schoolers. They will use the internet to locate stories about activism (link provided) and write a summary of each. Additionally they will research careers...

What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out instructional activity that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to...

After reading The Great Gatsby, groups return to the text and note passages where Fitzgerald uses symbols and color imagery in his narrative. They then develop a presentation that explains the context, the implications, and possible...

A thorough lesson on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the persuasive techniques...