Begin writing personal narratives in this writing instructional activity. Junior high writers start by writing a journal about their favorite holiday. They read a book at their skill level and use graphic organizers to record their ideas...

Good writing can come from personal places. Budding online authors read an excerpt from a narrative-style newspaper article and then respond to several related writing prompts. They compose blog responses that use vivid imagery to...

What makes your pupils happy? Find out with a lesson centered around this theme. Class members come up with things that make them happy and write about them in preparation for quick group project. Learners watch and discuss a short film...

N.B.. cit., n.b., viz., sc., inf. e,g,—these abbreviations frequently appear in academic papers and on works cited lists, but what do they mean? Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, the handout on Latin terms and...

Transition words in writing are the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, learners cut out the word-sort cards (embedded in the plan), and put them into four categories: time, examples, space, and summary. They find a...

Writing the conclusion of an essay can often seem like a superfluous or daunting task. Support your young writers in understanding the various types and purposes of a conclusion paragraph, such as summarizing key points of a paper or...

All ages love to engage in cartoon writing –- little do they know that they actually learn quite a bit from it! In an instructional session focused on literacy syntax and vocabulary, your pupils work cooperatively to draw six pictures...

Point of view is important when choosing a narrator. Help young writers distinguish between first and third person point of view with an activity that features excerpts from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. After reading...

Explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. Writers develop pages for a basic writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common writing errors. A great way to...

Shed light onto the subject of happiness with a instructional activity that focuses on how the emotion—much like other emotions—does not last forever. Scholars read brief passages and answer nine short-answer questions that...

Nineteen states legally permit school officials to physically punish children. Scholars learn more about the topic as they use the website to prepare for a class debate or discussion. Pupils read background information and discover the...

To write an essay or not to write an essay—that is the question! Scholars complete a mid-unit assessment based on their study of Hamlet. They write essays analyzing how Shakespeare develops Hamlet's character about other characters.

Bring your young mathematicians into the fold. Scholars conduct an activity folding paper to see the relationship between the number of folds and the number of resulting layers in the 23rd installment of a 36-part module. The results of...

Japanese tea gatherings are the inspiration for a great lesson. Learners are provided with an image of a tea caddy made for thick tea and asked to describe what they notice and what that might mean. This leads into a larger lesson about...

How do you help a child with dyslexia succeed as a writer? Here is a resource for those who need guidance in creating writing lessons for their students with dyslexia. It discusses research-based strategies that can be used and...

At 32 slides, one would think this presentation on thesis statements is a bit too long, but it is the most important component of a well-written essay! Help your developing writers craft concise, interesting theses with this PowerPoint....

Expository writing is the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, young writers review what expository writing is through a class discussion and teacher demonstration. Then, learners write expository text that describes...

Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...

If you see phrases such as in conclusion or this is my paper about, you know you're about to read a poorly worded conclusion. A tip sheet, the fifth resource in a series of handouts to improve writing, helps scholars craft better...

Safety first! Safety first! A short video and a PowerPoint presentation introduce job seekers to child labor law awareness, safety standards, and ways to reduce workplace injuries. Class members first take a short workplace...

An English Language Arts Reading Comprehension Practice Test for Grade 10 asks scholars to read a poem and answer two multiple-choice questions about the poem. They finish the task by responding to an open-response essay question. 

Shall we agree to disagree? Scholars have the opportunity to choose a topic they feel is controversial in the world and express ideas about it. They complete essays that address the opposite views. In two other essays, they analyze a...

For this language arts activity, students write two short paragraphs: one about how they could help someone bigger than themselves and one about how someone littler could help them. A picture of a lion and mouse is on the page; this...