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...

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....

Novice writers often struggle to determine what style of essay to write when given a prompt. This worksheet helps to identify an appropriate form based on the language of the question. For example, key words like prove or justify...

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

Can your learners fill out an envelope with their personal information? Give them some great practice using this template, which learners will enjoy because it's all about them! First, they write their name and address on an image of an...

To better understand Oklahoma state history, learners will use a website to find a song that supports or represents aspects of Oklahoma's history. They'll write three sentences defending their choice, and then they will create...

What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs....

Challenge your writers to improve their writing by introducing them to 10 strategies they can use to vary their sentence structures. Each strategy is described and examples given. Pupils then create their own sentences using this...

A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...

The Holocaust is unbelievable! Examine this piece of history with your class. Using the Internet, research groups determine the relevance of information presented, compare how different sites present the same information, synthesize...

Here is a lesson that incorporates music writing, and reading literature. The class reads chapter eight from the C.S. Lewis classic The Magician's Nephew. Then, just like in the story, they use music as inspiration to create (write)...

How many oceans can you name? First, have learners try to name as many oceans as they can, and then have them locate and identify the oceans on a world map. They create a recognizable ocean animal using poster board and tissue paper....

Have you just visited an art museum? Or can you create a gallery in your classroom to visit? Pupils create an original drawing that reinforces what was learned in a visit to the art museum. They will view original art work and verbally...

Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....

Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...

After listening to a story about the water cycle, learners create their own versions of this tale. This is a great way to have your class review the concepts of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.

Conduct a classroom conversation about communication using this resource as a jumping-off point. For this The Learning Network activity, learners read an excerpt from The New York Times opinion piece, "The Flight From Conversation," and...

I spy with my little eye! Learners observe page 23 in The Most Beautiful Roof in the World and practice what they would add to a field journal. They discuss how details from the text help add to their thoughts. To finish,...

After listening to the story, The Best Part of Me, learners will identify a positive physical feature of themselves, and create a descriptive poem about their favorite feature. Photographs are taken, and a nice final draft of the poem is...

Investigate the choices people make between economic growth and personal growth and development using the ethical/decision making model. Small groups create and present a position paper describing their feeling for or against the...

"What a beautiful noise comin' up from the street; got a beautiful sound, it's got a beautiful beat..." Use Neil Diamond's "Beautiful Noise" to guide your class through a Six Trait writing activity, in which they write an original poem...

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" Primary graders write about an animal that interests them, describing what it looks like, where it lives, and what it eats.

How have advances in technology and communication changed our world? That is the questions that world history students contemplate as they examine a series of primary and secondary source materials