Students compose letters of inquiry. In this written communication lesson, students read sample letters of inquiry about sites in Washington, D.C. Students then write their own letters of inquiry to the Washington, D.C. Chamber of Commerce.

Students explore nonfiction writing by completing a worksheet in class. In this research questions lesson, students read several stories about the Wild West icons Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok. Students answer study questions about the...

In this Civil Rights Movement worksheet, students follow the provided instructions to write term papers on the social movement and how it was impacted by American politics.

Fifth graders write descriptive imagery and identify facts about various components of the universe. They listen to the book "The Magic School Bus, Lost in the Solar System," develop a list of descriptive words from the story, compose a...

Second graders research the Solar System using the Internet to complete questions. They sing The Planet Song and study the names of the planets using an acrostic poem. They write descriptive paragraphs with a partner with whom they check...

Ninth graders explore civil rights by reading several biographies. In this Nelson Mandela lesson, 9th graders discuss the trials and tribulations Nelson Mandela had to face in South Africa and how they were similar to the problems Martin...

Second graders brainstorm words to describe Thing One and Thing Two characters from Dr. Seuss computer program, use variety of adjectives to create descriptions, and create new set of characters, Thing Three and Thing Four, by drawing...

Seventh graders examine life at the Jamestown settlement. In this colonial America lesson, 7th graders visit the noted Web site to analyze artifacts from the settlement. Based on their findings, students write descriptive pieces about...

Students determine a positive physical feature of themselves. They participate in an online writer's workshop and write descriptive poem about their favorite feature. They create a display of poetry and pictures.

Students determine length, width, perimeter, and surface area, and work with two-dimensional representations of three-dimension objects to design and write descriptions of their dream bedrooms.

Students read or listen to a story, and discuss how it relates to them. In this personal event writing activity, students write about recycling. Students read "The Giving Tree" a Shel Silverstein poem and discuss the poem's meaning....

Young scholars investigate their family history through pictures and writing. In this family history lesson, students research family, culture, food, music, religion, and clothing. Young scholars gather pictures of their family and...

Young scholars explore American tall tales. In this tall tale lesson plan, students discover the six characteristics that are included in tall tales. Young scholars survey their class to find each student's favorite tall tale character...

Third graders examine healthy eating habits by identifying the food pyramid.  In this personal health lesson, 3rd graders discuss their own eating habits and how there should be a variety of foods in all diets.  Students...

Students write a description of an animal.  In this descriptive writing lesson plan, students discuss ways to write to appeal to all five senses.  Students then describe an animal in a paragraph and pair up to guess the...

Students explore the use of description in literature and color. They read Hailstones and Halibut Bones and discuss the description of each color. Students what each color makes them think of and they create pictures for each color.

As a lesson on scientific observation, have your class investigate the features of a penny and a nickel. Working in pairs, they practice writing detailed descriptions using their senses and a ruler to gather information. This is an...

I absolutely love this idea. Kids explore the chiaroscuro technique as they draw, then bite, then write about an apple. They discuss chiaroscuro, depth, shade, perspective, and texture. Then they draw their apples, write a descriptive...

Upper graders identify the major characteristics of a wetland. They explore the human factors that change a wetland and write a descriptive paragraph about wetlands. This comprehensive lesson also has an interactive "Watershed Game"...

Extend your study of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton with an essay. Pupils can choose one of the three prompts provided on this page and write about either characterization, conflict, or theme. Each prompt includes a brief definition of the...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

A Dorothea Lange photograph launches this study of metaphors. Using the questions provided, the class examines the image and the title to consider how Lange uses her photo as a metaphor. Class members then select an object they can use...

Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...

Students create movie books that make their stories come alive. They share these movie books with non-readers in an attempt to inspire them.