This multi-lesson learning project encourages students to read engaging texts at their grade level and also works to promote habitual, independent reading in all students.

Using haiku, students focus on themes in literature and demonstrate their understanding of an author's message. Writing haiku to accompany an analytical paper hones analytical skills and fosters creative expression.

Students learn how to play "devil's advocate" by evaluating sports reforms, reading an engaging non-fiction article, and participating in a town hall meeting in which they represent the interests of various stakeholders to generate debate and develop critical thinking skills.

Using the Haiku Poem App or the Haiku Poem Interactive, students summarize papers they have written using the traditional format of a haiku.

Students develop quantitative reasoning and critical thinking by analyzing descriptions tables for content, language, and organization with a particular focus on verb tense selection, and then writing descriptions of tables themselves.

After researching alternative sources of energy, students create online comic books to present their information.

After researching the history and basic facts of a nuclear chemistry topic, students utilize the Web 2.0 tool Timetoast to create an electronic timeline that they use to present their research to the class.

After researching specific fossil fuel issues, students create their own clothing brands that express their opinions about the issues and then share their information and clothing line using either PowerPoint or Prezi.

After students write persuasive essays, use this lesson to challenge them to summarize their essays concisely by creating five-slide presentations.

Inspired by their curiosity about animals, students work together to research an animal of their choice and present the information they gather to an authentic audience.

Students are guided through an informal exploration of nonfiction texts and child-oriented Websites, learning browsing and skimming techniques for the purpose of gathering interesting information.

Students build classroom community as they get to know each other and their teacher better by sharing what they like to do outside school.

Students "become" one of the major characters in a book and describe themselves and other characters, using lists of accurate, powerful adjectives.

Students create a personalized biography for their reading buddy, and each child is the author, illustrator, and editor.

Students utilize their reading and writing skills as they think critically in order to sort books in multiple ways.

Students work together to create classroom rules by brainstorming why they are at school and what they need while they are there.

Students play a guessing game to practice using descriptive language.

Boom! Br-r-ring! Cluck! Moo!—Everywhere you turn, you find exciting sounds. Students use these sounds to write their own poems based on Dr. Seuss's Mr. Brown Can MOO! Can You?

This lesson engages children in using writing to their families as a persuasive tool to get what they want and need.

After listening to the beginning of a story, students use details in the text, personal experience, and prior knowledge to predict the way the story will end.