ReadWriteThink
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative
A picture's worth a thousand words—and even more inspiration! A visual activity uses photographs to inspire writers. The process teaches aspects of narrative writing, such as point of view and characterization.
ReadWriteThink
Scaffolding Methods for Research Paper Writing
Rome wasn't built in a day, but researchers can be with proper scaffolding. This writing unit has scholars write a research paper through scaffolding of various parts of the process. Learners begin with identifying a topic and crafting a...
ReadWriteThink
Biography Project: Research and Class Presentation
I Have A Dream ... that after the lesson, all individuals master the reading, writing, researching, listening, and speaking skills the biography project helps them develop. Martin Luther King, Jr. serves as a topic example for a model...
California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc
Poetic Devices
Have everything you need to know about the elements of poetry with a nine-page handout. Split into four categories—word sounds, meanings, arrangement, and imagery—budding poets may reference terms, read definitions, descriptions, and...
National Park Service
Maltese Cross Cabin
The Maltese Cross Cabin, a frontier residence of Theodore Roosevelt, is a time capsule that commemorates Roosevelt's time in the Dakota territory. An explanatory video and response guide takes students on a virtual tour of the wooden...
Library of Congress
Thomas Jefferson's Library: Making the Case for a National Library
The United States Library of Congress, the largest library in the world. But such was not always the case. The library was destroyed during the War of 1812. In a persuasive letter to Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his...
Mr. Nussbaum
THE Founding Father
Who is the founding father—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, or Benjamin Franklin? Scholars decide which of three early Americans, should be crowned the founding father of America based on research. Then, they compose a persuasive...
Thoughtful Education Press
Personal Narratives: Learning from Lessons Life Teaches Us
"First Appearance," Mark Twain's tale about overcoming stage fright, serves as a model of a personal narrative and gets young writers thinking about milestones in their own lives. After examining student models and considering the...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 2
Is there a difference between examining an original work of art and viewing a reproduction? Class members are asked to reflect on this question after researching a piece, study a reproduction of it, and the examining the original in an...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 3
Curator, artist, art handler, archivist, conservator-restorer, guide. Who would have thought there were so many different kinds of museum professionals? After a visit to an art museum, class members reflect on the role of the museum in...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue
Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.
Roald Dahl
Using The BFG in the Classroom
Use a resource that highlights Roald Dahl's seven tips for imaginative writing while reading The BFG. The activities encourage learners to become creative writers through finding harmony, establishing stamina, engaging in imaginative...
Bulgarian Creative Writing Competition
Creative Writing Prompts For Every Season and Month
Winter, spring, summer, and fall! Every season is covered in a 14-page list of writing prompts. Included are story starters, reflection questions, poetry topics, and more.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo History Museum: Curriculum Guide
Learn about the California Gold Rush from an institution that has been in place since the early days of the American West: Wells Fargo History Museum. From domain-specific vocabulary review to group research projects, an expansive packet...
Federal Reserve Bank
Lesson 4: Back to School
Based on your current level of human capital, how long would it take you to earn $1,000,000? What about your potential human capital? Learners explore the importance of education and experience when entering the workforce, and compare...
Federal Reserve Bank
Lesson 3: A Fresh Start
The members of your economics class may be busy earning graduation credits, but the credit they should be concerned about is their financial credit. The third instructional activity in a unit about Hurricane Katrina and other events that...
Federal Reserve Bank
Lesson 2: In the Aftermath
Don't wait for a crisis to get your finances together. An economics lesson demonstrates the importance of understanding crucial documents, banking basics, and financial tools with the focus on Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and its effects.
Scholastic
The Flight of Amelia Earhart Teaching Guide
Amelia Earhart's accomplishments and strength of character extend beyond her status as one of the first female aviators in America. Elementary and middle schoolers learn about Earhart's early life and the historical context surrounding...
Biology Corner
Technology and Inventions Project
Technology—what exactly is it? Find out with a project designed to inspire the inner inventor in us all. The activity begins with a captivating podcast and a search of multiple websites that display different inventions and technology,...
Curated OER
Book Report Task Cards
With 52 task cards, learners will not run out of things to do with a book they are reading independently or with the class. Tasks include making a poster on a specific topic, writing a summary, drafting a sequel, creating a windsock,...
Teach Hub
New Year’s Resolution Classroom Activity
Create a sense of accountability among scholars with a lesson that focuses on making and keeping New Year's resolutions. Writers compose a five paragraph essay focused on three resolutions—promises to self improvement, to their family,...
Curated OER
Build Your Dream Science Lab
Would your ideal science lab be filled with bubbling beakers and zapping Tesla coils? Or would it contain state-of-the-art computer technology and data analysis? Dream big with an innovative lesson that connects math and language arts...
Energy for Keeps
The Energy Times
Extra! Extra! Read all about past and present energy use in a classroom-made historical newspaper. Useful as a cross-curricular assignment between science, history, and language arts, the project is sure to get young journalists...
Odell Education
Building Evidence-Based Arguments: “Doping can be that last 2 percent.”
Even the most thrilling sports career can end in an asterisk if the player uses performance-enhancing drugs. Focused on the topic of doping in sports, a seventh grade unit breaks down the arguments for and against steroids in five...