In “Water”, Helen Keller describes her first experiences with her new teacher. Keller finally grasps the idea that a word Anne Sullivan is spelling, water, corresponds to the water flowing over Keller’s hand. This insight leads Keller to make connections and open doors of knowledge and opportunity previously closed to her. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

In this video, students study a mentor text to help strengthen the endings of their narratives. Students work through an activity to understand the author's intent and purpose for writing events in a story.

This poetry lesson uses hip hop and karaoke to inspire students to write and engage with poetry.

Explore the traditions and conventions of haiku and compare this classic form of Japanese poetry to a related genre of Japanese visual art.

This lesson plan, which is adaptable for use in middle school as well, introduces students to a wide world of writing. Students begin by brainstorming a list of the types of writing people do on a daily basis. Then, students work together to classify those writing genres in various categories, such as formal and informal, public and private, and digital writing. Students then invite people into the classroom to talk about what, why, and how they write in real life. As a culminating activity, students reflect on how these varying purposes and processes can apply to their own lives.

This lesson, Young People Working for Justice, focuses on Dr. Martin Luther King and on the role of youth during the modern African American Freedom Struggle. The activities encourage students to envision their role in creating a just world.

Zlata's Diary chronicles the daily life of Zlata, an eleven year-old girl during wartime in Sarajevo, and the war's increasing impact on her hometown of Sarajevo and her family. This courageous, intelligent young woman has been called "the Anne Frank of Sarajevo" for her searing account of war's effects, but her story has had a happier ending. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

During the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, Reuven is forced to sell Zlateh, the family goat, because business has been bad. On his way to the butcher, Aaron (Reuven's son) and Zlateh get caught in a terrible snowstorm, and after finding shelter in a haystack, they develop a deeper bond and interdependence. In this CCSS lesson, students will explore this story through text dependent questions, academic vocabulary, and writing assignments.

Students make lists of their favorite and least favorite movies and brainstorm qualities that make a film good or bad. Next, students write a movie review for a film they have seen.