What's the difference between a diary and a memoir? Young historians explore the ramifications of this question as they learn how to use primary source materials to gain an understanding of life on the Texas frontier.

Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...

A 55-page unit examines the novel, The BFG, by Roald Dahl. Six lessons pay close attention to friendship, dreams, and believing themes while analyzing interesting characters, writing creative vocabulary, smilies, metaphors, an exciting...

Celebrate and honor Native American culture with this set of graphic organizers that showcases literature like The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses and A Boy Called Slow as well as three other Native American literature books....

Burning off a Big Mac® doesn't seem like a big feat until you calculate the minutes of exercise necessary to break even. Young mathematicians look at different menu items in relation to different body weights and exercises to calculate...

"Let the hunt begin!" As an introduction to synonyms, second graders generate a list of word pairs that have similar meanings. The words pairs are written on sentence strips, cut apart, shuffled, and distributed to class members who must...

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education young scholars, this resource provides reading...

Classes look at and analyze primary source images to explore the differences between the colonial regions during the Revolutionary era. They break into groups to tackle each region and then present their findings to the class. A final...

Students discover the importance of using descriptive words in good writing. They brainstorm words to describe elephants and dogs then watch a video that describes different items. Each student writes a paragraph using descriptive words...

In this writing instructional activity, students write a descriptive sentence to tell about each clip art character. They write sentences to describe a teddy bear, a dragon, a basketball player, and a rubber duck.

Learners investigate the concept of self-esteem and image with the creation of a personal display of items of significance. They put together a project composed of pictures and writings to describe themselves and are assessed according...

First graders explore language arts by undergoing a writing assignment. In this descriptive writing lesson plan, 1st graders identify the skills necessary to write in depth about a subject which they must do based upon a specific topic....

Teaching young learners about similes is easy as pie with this primary grade language arts lesson. Following a class reading of the children's book, Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood, young readers learn the definition of a simile...

As a way to combine language arts and science, try this instructional activity on writing cloud poetry. Begin by showing a PowerPoint presentation and images of cloud types. Take meteorology masters outdoors to explore the sky using the...

Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...

Students write a topic sentence to a paragraph and explain that it introduces the main idea. After a whole-class demonstration, students write a complete paragraph with their topic sentence and supporting sentences. There are some...

What must a sentence contain in order to be complete? What different types of sentences exist? Look at declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences with this 17-slide presentation. Several example sentences are shown, and the...

Designed for advanced beginning English language learners, this 21-page packet includes listening, speaking, and writing practice exercises related to the theme of visits to the doctor's office.

Young scholars investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.

Practice family-related vocabulary and adjectives with an enjoyable poster project. Class members use the provided vocabulary and original adjectives to describe each family member and their own relationship to each person. Require...

High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a...

After observing a map of trails that settlers took in the 1800s, your class will write a journal with the perspective of a settler. In their journals, they must describe the trail they traveled, geographical features they saw, states and...

After looking at pictures of trees, discussing tree growth, and identifying the parts of a tree, lead your class on a nature walk and have them collect samples and record their observations. They then work in pairs to polish the...

Charles Dickens offers an excellent example of sensory writing in this reading comprehension learning exercise. Learners read excerpts from the novel Hard Times in which he describes the New England industrial city of Coketown....