Curated OER
Build an Outdoor Compost Heap
Students study how to create a compost heap. For this composting lesson, students create a compost heap. Students write an essay describing the process.
Secondary Solutions
Of Mice and Men: A Literature Guide
Whether you are planning on using Of Mice and Men for whole-class reading or as a selection for literature circles; whether you are new to John Steinbeck's novel, or it has long been a part of your curriculum, you will find a wealth of...
Curated OER
Web Wilderness
Fourth graders write an expository paper using notes taken during a field trip or a guest speaker.
Curated OER
Publish Your Daily Dilemma Results
Young scholars fill out an outline and write an expository text on a dilemma that they read about. They brainstorm how they can solve the dilemma, write about it, then submit their suggestions to the Wilderness Classroom Expedition Team.
Curated OER
Personally Speaking
Seventh graders read, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond," and write an expository essay discussing choices they have in society today compared with the character Kit.
Curated OER
Navajo Code Talkers
An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter as a...
Perkins School for the Blind
Tactile quilts that tell a story
Learners with multiple disabilities need to engage in projects that push them to know their full potential. They need to be able to express themselves in a variety of ways, and this very thoughtful lesson does just that. They make a...
Curated OER
Planets in our Solar System
A wonderfully designed, and very thorough lesson plan on the planets in our solar system. Designed for third graders, this activity has learners use technology and multimedia tools to research, explore, and create information about the...
Curated OER
Science Current Events Lessons
You can use current events to increase student understanding of both science concepts and language arts skills.
Curated OER
Information Sensation!
Third graders, in groups, choose a research topic and generate questions to narrow their focus. They research the answers to their questions and develop correctly cited source cards that display appropriate bibliographic format.
Museum of Tolerance
Artifact Research Activity
Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is discovered,...
Curated OER
Who Is That Ghostly Character?
Eighth graders listen to a taped version of the radio play, "The Hitchhiker". They write a conclusion to the play and work with a partner to evaluate it before a final revision.
Curated OER
House and Holmes: A Guide to Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.2
Identifying the theme or central idea of a text is a skill many young readers struggle with. It is also the second standard for reading literature in the Common Core. This resource, one from a series of Common Core lessons, can provide...
Curated OER
Forms Of Knowledge
Learners put writing pieces into categories to show different organizational features in writing. In this writing lesson plan, students are shown examples of speeches, poems, editorials, cartoons, parodies, historical fiction, and more.
Curated OER
Five Paragraph Essay
Eighth graders are introduced to the mechanics of writing a standard-form essay. They draft, edit and polish a five-paragraph essay about spending the day as an animal of their choice.
Curated OER
Making a Travel Folder
Students explore the United States. For this U.S. geography and expository writing lesson, students select a place in the United States to research. Students take notes and create a travel "folder," or brochure, using the information...
Virginia Department of Education
Deciding the Mode
Are your young writers having difficulty distinguishing between expository and persuasive writing? Discuss the difference between the two, and how some prompts can be responded to in either fashion. Included here is a simple lesson plan...
Curated OER
How To Grow Red Seaweed
Learners explore ocean biology by participating in a plant growing activity. In this seaweed lesson, students identify the importance and uses of seaweed in the ocean and examine different seaweed samples. Learners utilize an aquarium,...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension
Using either online worksheets or print outs, 12th graders practice expository text comprehension skills by answering multiple choice questions, completing a vocabulary matching activity, and completing a crossword puzzle. This is...
Curated OER
Point of You
Sixth graders study point of view by rewriting an existing narrative paragraph (using a different point-of-view). They expand this knowledge by writing an expository paragraph, then rewriting it to reflect a different point-of-view.
Curated OER
To Infinity and Beyond...Magazine of Planetary Studies
Young scholars demonstrate their creativity by creating a magazine to express expository text. In this expository text lesson plan, students create a magazine in groups to creatively make text interesting.
Curated OER
Theocracy, Then and Now
High schoolers search the Web for resources to use in preparing the project, make and defend judgments as to the authority and appropriateness of resources they include or exclude from their projects, and write clearly in the expository...