Students analyze characterization by creating their own superheroes or super-villains, complete with related gadgets and settings.

Students learn about the life and music of John Lennon, write a short story from their lives integrating lyrics from some of their favorite songs, and create a class book of stories.

Students use illustrations from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick as a guide to write mysteries and then present their stories to the class for students to discuss to which illustration each story corresponds.

Using different writing/drawing materials (e.g., markers, color pencils, pastels, etc.), students learn how to communicate different moods and/or feelings to support their written ideas and how authors do the same through their work.

Students engage in a rich study of vocabulary words from the song "America the Beautiful," using music and art.

Students craft comic scripts using clear, descriptive, and detailed writing that shows (illustrates) and tells (directs). After peers create an artistic interpretation of the script, students revise their original scripts.

Students read thematically related texts, scaffolded from simple to complex, to help them gather necessary concept vocabulary and background knowledge in a content area. They then write acrostic poems to organize and present their learning in a creative way.

Students can utilize this printout to organize their writing as they learn to use the RAFT strategy. This printout enables students to clearly define their role, audience, format, and topic for writing.

In this strategy guide, you'll learn how to determine the level and type of support you need to provide students based on careful preparation as a content area expert.

In this Strategy Guide Series, you'll find creative and compatible ways to build, maintain, and extend students' vocabulary across academic disciplines.

In this guide, you will learn how to use Word Walls to support vocabulary development and retention.

In this guide, you will learn how to use generative sentences to give students opportunities to apply their knowledge of new words in writing.

Are your students easily fooled? You'll find out in this lesson in which students carefully and critically examine hoax websites to determine their validity.

C is for Culture in this lesson in which students research a culture different from their own and compile an alphabet book that showcases cultural symbols for each letter of the alphabet.

Students will have a blast as they use descriptive language to write about an "explosive" and dramatic moment in their lives.

Students will have a roaring good time when they watch a scene from The Lion King as a way to compare standard and described programming media.

Students will think this lesson should make the headlines when they finish researching Ernie Pyle's work in preparation for writing their own news articles.

Students get the big picture of the Middle East when they read and analyze Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis.