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A Christmas Carol chronology

Christmas Carol Chronology, based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, provides students with an opportunity to develop comprehension by listing plot developments and arranging them sequentially. This lesson begins with cooperative learning groups and ends with an individual manipulative activity of cutting and pasting strips of events in chronological order.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)

By Judy Gibbs.

Details and sequencing

In CareerStart lessons: Grade six, page 1.7

This lesson for grade six will introduce students to careers in environmental protection as it teaches them to identify details and sequence in a non-fiction reading passage.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts and Guidance)

By Jennifer Brookshire and Julie McCann.

Getting paragraphing down P-A-T

One way to remember when to indent and begin a new paragraph is when (P) the place changes, (A) the action changes, and (T) the time changes (P-A-T). In this lesson, students will learn how to identify appropriate places to indent new paragraphs in their writing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Great beginnings

Good beginnings hook readers and make them want to continue reading. Students will learn the features of good beginnings by reading the beginnings of several narrative picture books and then writing good beginnings for their own narratives.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Great endings

Sometimes authors end their stories with a memory, a feeling, a wish, or a hope. Other times they end the story by referring back to the language of the beginning. In this lesson, students will examine the characteristics of good endings by reading good endings of narrative picture books. They will then practice writing good endings for their own narratives.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–4 English Language Arts)

By DPI Writing Strategies.

Helping students understand text structures: Informational problem/solution

This exercise teaches students to understand the organizational structure of problem/solution essays by having them write "what it says" and "what it does" statements about a text. Asking students to write these statements about a text will enable students to read the text closely and will ensure that they understand the structure of a problem/solution text.

Format: lesson plan (grade 10 English Language Arts)

By Margaret Ryan.

Highlighting revisions, glossing changes

By highlighting their revisions and explaining (i.e.,glossing) the changes they have made to a draft of their work, students will not only become more proficient writers but will also become more conscious of the process of revision and thus more reflective writers. Further, teachers will find it easier to monitor and evaluate student revisions.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Peter Bobbe.

Let's become chefs!

The following is designed to teach students the characteristics of a recipe. The characteristics to be taught about this genre are: the step-by-step directions, ingredient words and numerical measures.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By Sarah Ann Parker.

Literature biography project

Students will learn to develop the various processes used in researching and writing a biographical research paper, including brainstorming, note taking, outlining, creating a bibliography, and writing the final draft.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Sandra Dail.

Making patterns make sense

Students will analyze organizational patterns in analytical writing by reading, Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. Students will then apply these patterns to their own writing by creating children's books about success.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Heather Bower.

Posing a scenario and "looping" to provide focus in a cause/effect essay

Most of us are familiar with the idea that in narratives a writer chooses a “hot spot” or critical incident to serve as the focus of the work. Teachers of expository writing also must assist students in finding the “hot spot” or focus of their essays. Use this exercise to help student focus on one aspect of the essay.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

By Margaret Ryan.

Using RAFT to determine how to write an informational essay

Students will use RAFT as a tool to determine how to write an informational essay. They will also design a graphic organizer for the assignment as well as compose a rough draft. This is the second lesson in a series of three based on the LEARN NC 9th grade writing exemplars.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9 English Language Arts)

By Kim Bowen.

Welcome to my world!: Developing a personal narrative timeline

Students will create digital, narrative, and drawn versions of a timeline of at least five events of their life.

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–3 English Language Arts)

By DPI Integration Strategies.

Resources on the web

Research building blocks: "Organize This!"

Children are naturally curious-they want to know “how” and “why.” Teaching research skills can help students find answers for themselves. “Organize This!&rdquo' is taken from a ReadWriteThink research skills unit where the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink