Fourth graders who are studying life in colonial America engage in an instructional activity that has them create a "Help Wanted" ad that would have been written by a master craftsperson from back in the day. They utilize a graphic...

Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...

Want to explore the process of writing a persuasive essay and tie it in with the upcoming elections? Class members use Venn diagrams and the hamburger model of persuasive writing to write a five-paragraph essay on elections and...

A thorough lesson plan 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...

Informative writing is emphasized in the standards. Help your learners reach that goal with the plan for paragraph writing outlined here. After reviewing the work from the day before and adding to their vocabulary notebooks, class...

Explore non-violent protest in this social values and world history lesson. After viewing the movie Gandhi, and discussing important events in Gandhi's life, young orators write a speech defending Gandhi's position on the value of...

Fifth graders conduct research. They explore how to give an oral presentation with visual aids. Students have the opportunity to create a proposal which could help alleviate world hunger. They brainstorm different ways children could...

Forming a strong organizational outline is important when reading a complex text, writing an informative essay, or analyzing a complicated problem. Use a straightforward organization outline to teach learners about concept mapping.

America has always been seen as a melting pot to the world. Scholars research the concept of blending cultures in the United States and how it is changing over time. The final activity of a four-part series analyzes the changing...

Fifth graders choose a country associated with a family member and research its location, government, language, economy, history, holidays, foods, sports, and famous people. They write to inform using this data and draw a map identifying...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Write an unsent letter about a consumer scam, paying attention to the writing conventions of punctuation and spelling. This lesson could be adapted to fit a variety of social issues in which letter writing is appropriate. 4

Analyze the constitutions of five different countries and see how they relate to each country's culture and traditions. Pupils read the preambles to the constitutions of India, Ireland, Russia, Suriname, and the United States. After...

Take a trip to Mardi Gras with a festive reading packet! After class members read an informational article about the history and celebration of Mardi Gras, they think about the structure of the passage...

Improve class understanding of colonial times by reading an informational text and filling out the accompanying graphic organizer. Class members work with a partner to read, take notes, make inferences, and synthesize information.The...

One of the keys to success in school is organization. This resource leads learners through the process of creating an outline for a chapter from a social studies text. In addition, they review facts they have learned in their class...

Promote collaboration in the classroom with a historical fiction instructional activity. Fourth graders partner up and read the other's narrative to give feedback on vocabulary choice and the accuracy of historical information. After...

Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in the American south during the depression era as they read Harper Lee's To Kill a...

Use a packet packed with ideas for how to celebrate the traditions of your country, state, community, and pupils's families. Suggestions for how to draw on oral and material traditions, customs, beliefs, music, and stories all find...

As a summative assessment for this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders listen to and read informational texts in order to demonstrate their ability to take notes, write summaries, and draw connections. Young scholars first listen as...

The seventh lesson plan in this unit on colonial trade assesses fourth graders' ability to use details from an informational text to make inferences and create a piece of informative writing. The included assessment begins with learners...

Students write a business letter with information regarding specific writing mechanics. In this writing lesson, students learn to write a business letter and they focus on one area of concern. Students follow a business letter...

Though Abraham Lincoln's life was tragically cut short, it was filled with accomplishments and inspiring moments that continue to influence American democracy. Explore the ways the 16th president of the United States made his way from a...

Let's focus on a holiday from around the world! Young researchers choose a holiday from somewhere around the world, and conduct research to answer questions about the holiday. It can be used anytime during the year!