Animals are the theme of this series of challenge activities. Extend scholars' learning opportunities by writing personal narratives and book reports, creating picture and alphabet books, and drawing scenes from stories read aloud.

Lead your readers into the fourth dimension as time travelers with a Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) Teacher Guide of H. G. Wells's The Time Machine. The 144-page guide includes a unit calendar, introduction, nine lessons, teacher...

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

What does a morally courageous person look like? Discuss principles, peer pressure, and solving problems without violence in a worksheet about moral courage, and the ways you can be a hero to the people around you.

Students demonstrate how to write about travel experiences. In this narrative writing lesson, students discuss what the purpose of postcards are and any personal experiences they have had with writing a postcard. Students observe the...

What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...

Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson plan investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...

Eighth graders review narrative tenses. In this narrative tenses lesson, 8th graders read a story, answer comprehension questions, and complete a worksheet. This lesson is designed for students who are learning English as a second...

Eighth graders review sound and rhythm devices and apply them to their own writing exercises. Next, they interpret the poem, "Where I'm From," as an example of a personal narrative. Using their understanding of poetic devices, they...

What is special about summer (fall, winter, or spring)? Using a bag filled with season-related items (for summer items like sunglasses, a swimming suit, etc.) the class take turns taking out one item. A discussion of how each item might...

Students analyze the use of oral history as a way of gathering history. In this oral history lesson, students define oral history and then discuss researching immigration. Students research immigration. Students create questions for to...

Young scholars use examples of narrative and expository text to analyze and compare the two styles. High schoolers read articles on life in Lesotho and Madagascar and use graphic organizers and discussion to compare them. Young scholars...

Students create a writing selection with a well-developed plot. They use a personal photograph in which they are visible to base their autobiographical writing. They write a description of the events surrounding the photograph in the...

Fifth graders study pronouns. For this grammar lesson, 5th graders discuss what a pronoun is and write what they did last night using pronouns.

Students inquire about the lives of the First Ladies in our country. For this First Ladies lesson, students build knowledge about the contributions of First Ladies and how their childhood made them the person they are. Students do a play...

Students explore Irish culture by participating in a creative writing activity. For this good will writing lesson, students define "Irish Blessings" and utilize computer software to create a template for a blessing they will write....

Students read and discuss a film review of the animated movie Antz and then write a monologue from the perspective of a non-human organism.

Students create and send postcards to friends and family members. Using actual photographs, they write a rough draft and final draft of a paragraph and print it out to glue onto a postcard template to mail to their friend or family member.

A writing prompt about a classroom's missing Valentines allows students to finish the story with their own endings, and to provide their own titles. The lesson comes with a picture and the beginning of the story to full prompt students...

Twelfth graders rewrite a story in a different format to understand the effects of the author's style. In this writing style lesson, 12th graders read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and rewrite the...

Malcolm X's journey to Cairo, his Hajj, his Letter from Mecca detailing his insights into "true Islam," and his transition to Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz are the focus of the discussion of chapter 17 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Dr. Seuss and Walter Dean Myers team up to cover the topic of prejudice. Using The Sneeches (about the culture clash between star-bellied and bare-bellied Sneetches) and The Glory Fields (about a boy coming to America on a slave ship),...

Journal writing can be a fun way to bring history to life. Upper graders read a series of journals from the time of the westward expansion, specifically the pioneer journey along the Oregon Trail. They compose an ongoing journal from the...

Gain greater insight into poems using a poetry analysis worksheet. Here, scholars follow steps and answer questions to dissect any poem. Topics include the poem's meaning, theme, technique, and structure, as well as personal...