Absolute location is a very important geography concepts that all students must master. Latitude and longitude are two very important tools as well. This assignment encourages students to find 20 American cities on a map using only their coordinates. The assignment includes an answer key for easy review or grading. You may use the Internet, a classroom resource, or the map I have supplied to complete it. The choice is yours. This would be an effective assignment to use when introducing latitude and longitude in your classroom. It will help reinforce skills later in the school year as well.

Would you like to enliven your 20th century American history or science lesson with a fun, challenging writing project? The Apollo 11 Moon Landing RAFT Writing Project contains a RAFT writing project for the social studies or science classroom. This project may be used as a creative research project or as a summarizing assignment to end a unit of study on Apollo 11. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive, argumentative or persuasive) to create one of several products (letter, television commercial, diary entry, etc.).

The Oregon Trail R.A.F.T. Creative Writing Project is an excellent assignment to use to wrap up a lesson about this famous moment in American History. It is also a great idea if you wish to make a unit multidisciplinary: you can combine social studies and language arts into a fun, challenging creative writing project! What is a R.A.F.T., you might ask? R.A.F.T. is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. R.A.F.T.s provide rigor, flexibility, and variety. A R.A.F.T. can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres or types of writing to create one of several products including a letter, a television commercial, a journal entry, and several more. I define this further in the packet. This packet includes: (1) the R.A.F.T. assignment sheet; (2) a Ready your R.A.F.T. graphic organizer; (3) a Show, Don’t Tell graphic organizer; (4) a Planning My First Draft graphic organizer; (5) a Revising My Draft graphic organizer; (6) a Peer Review Checklist; (7) a Grading Rubric; (8) and a Ticket-Out-the-Door summarizing exit slip. Please see the preview! Why are RAFTS wonderful for reading comprehension assessment and writing projects? (1) They require higher-order thinking skills: students must role-play as the character they choose and utilize unique character traits to write a convincing response. (2) They are extremely difficult to plagiarize or copy from the Internet. This is NOT a basic report. Students must synthesize key details and create a brand new piece of writing. (3) As a result, students will emerge from the writing project with a much better understanding of the assigned reading. After all, they must demonstrate mastery in the project. Consider purchasing it today!

The Boston Tea Party R.A.F.T. Creative Writing Project is an excellent assignment to use to wrap up a lesson about this famous moment in American History. It is also a great idea if you wish to make a unit multidisciplinary: you can combine social studies and language arts into a fun, challenging creative writing project! What is a R.A.F.T., you might ask? R.A.F.T. is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. R.A.F.T.s provide rigor, flexibility, and variety. A R.A.F.T. can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres or types of writing to create one of several products including a letter, a television commercial, a journal entry, and several more. I define this further in the packet.

Would you like to enliven history with a fun, challenging writing project? The Black Death RAFT Writing Project contains a RAFT writing project for the history classroom. This project may be used as a creative research project or as a summarizing assignment to end a unit of study on the Middle Ages or another aspect of European History. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym that stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. It is a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres of writing to create one of several products. In this project, students have four writing options to choose from. They may role-play as a Sicilian authority figure, a Venetian trader, an English nurse, or a French tailor.

Would you like to enliven ancient history with a fun, challenging writing project? The Assassination of Julius Caesar RAFT Writing Project contains a RAFT writing project for the social studies classroom. This project may be used as a creative research project or as a summarizing assignment to end a unit of study on Caesar or Ancient Rome. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive, argumentative or persuasive) to create one of several products (letter, television commercial, diary entry, etc.). In this project, students have four writing options to choose from. They may role-play as a concerned patrician, a senator, Caesar’s wife Calpurnia, or Augustus.

The Dracula RAFT Writing Project contains a writing project for the English/Language Arts classroom.This is a culminating project to end a unit of study on Bram Stoker’s famous novel. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive, argumentative or persuasive) to create one of several products (letter, television commercial, diary entry, etc.). I define this further in the packet.

Baseball & the Art of Persuasion RAFT Research Writing Project contains a Common Core-ready writing project that (1) allows students to research one of four early 20th century baseball topics and (2) write a persuasive piece of writing based on their research. The project is intended for the English/Language Arts classroom, the social studies classroom, or the physical education classroom. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. Topics include the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal (the White Sox), the departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the inclusion of Negro Leagues superstars, and the Boston Red Sox sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource.

The California Gold Rush R.A.F.T. Creative Writing Project is an excellent assignment to use to wrap up a lesson about this important moment in American history and California history. This R.A.F.T. is also a great idea if you wish to make a unit multidisciplinary: you can combine social studies and language arts into a fun, challenging creative writing project! What is a R.A.F.T., you might ask? R.A.F.T. is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. R.A.F.T.s provide rigor, flexibility, and variety. A R.A.F.T. can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres or types of writing to create one of several products including a letter, a television commercial, a journal entry, and several more. I define this further in the packet. This packet includes: (1) the R.A.F.T. assignment sheet; (2) a Ready your R.A.F.T. graphic organizer; (3) a Show, Don’t Tell graphic organizer; (4) a Planning My First Draft graphic organizer; (5) a Revising My Draft graphic organizer; (6) a Peer Review Checklist; (7) a Grading Rubric; (8) and a Ticket-Out-the-Door summarizing exit slip. Please see the preview! Why are RAFTS wonderful for reading comprehension assessment and writing projects? (1) They require higher-order thinking skills: students must role-play as the character they choose and utilize unique character traits to write a convincing response. (2) They are extremely difficult to plagiarize or copy from the Internet. This is NOT a basic report. Students must synthesize key details and create a brand new piece of writing. (3) As a result, students will emerge from the writing project with a much better understanding of the assigned reading. After all, they must demonstrate mastery in the project.

Would you like to enliven ancient history with a fun, challenging writing project? The Code of Hammurabi RAFT Writing Project contains a RAFT writing project for the social studies classroom. This project may be used as a creative research project or as a summarizing assignment to end a unit of study on Mesopotamia, Ancient Babylon, or Hammurabi. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive, argumentative or persuasive) to create one of several products (letter, television commercial, diary entry, etc.). I define this further in the packet.

The Create Your Own Culture Project will give students hands-on practice working with concepts that are sometimes difficult to understand. What is a culture? What are culture traits? These are questions that students may struggle to define. If they are given the opportunity to create their own culture full of vibrant culture traits, I believe these concepts will be easier to master. Throughout this project, students are challenged to create unique characteristics and explain them thoroughly. There are other parts in which students must draw their creations. If used in its entirety, this can be a very powerful and engaging assignment! Of course, depending on your instructional goals and how much time you have available to you will also determine how much of the packet you may wish to use. Nothing in the packet is numbered – and for good reason! – so that you can mix-and-match handouts to meet specific goals. A complete project will give students the most immersive experience, but a handful of pages will also prove beneficial. A word of advice before you start: this assignment works best when students are required to take it seriously. They are asked to justify their answers in the assignment to cut down on “nonsense answers.” What about an extension idea? Consider displaying all of these projects displayed with colorful images and bold lettering on a poster board or bulletin board display. You might even host a multicultural fair in your classroom in which students present and explain the cultures they have created. What fun! If you should try this, would you please email me a photo or two of the finished work? I love seeing examples of how the assignments I write are used in the classroom.

The Brave New World RAFT Writing Project contains a writing project for the English/Language Arts classroom.This is a culminating project to end a unit of study on Aldous Huxley’s famous novel. What is a RAFT, you might ask? RAFT is an acronym for a powerful writing strategy that provides rigor, flexibility, and variety. RAFT stands for Role, Audience, Format, and Topic. A RAFT can be implemented in all content areas, thus making it an excellent Writing Across the Curriculum resource. Young writers might pursue one of several genres of writing (expository, narrative, descriptive, argumentative or persuasive) to create one of several products (letter, television commercial, diary entry, etc.).

This is the create-a-country project which requires students – upper elementary, middle, or high school – to demonstrate fundamental geography skills. I mention it is a scalable assignment. Simply, there are different versions of this two-part assignment here: an upper elementary school assignment, a middle school assignment, and a high school assignment. Of course, you can mix-and-match to fit the needs of your classes. Both parts of this assignment require students to think critically to earn full credit. The first part of the assignment requires them to define their country’s unique characteristics. The second part is a map-making assignment in which they take the displayable characteristics from part one and illustrate them on a blank piece of paper. This can be a very powerful and engaging project!

The Create Your Own Culture Project will give students hands-on practice working with concepts that are sometimes difficult to understand. What is a culture? What are culture traits? These are questions that students may struggle to define. If they are given the opportunity to create their own culture full of vibrant culture traits, I believe these concepts will be easier to master. Throughout this project, students are challenged to create unique characteristics and explain them thoroughly. There are other parts in which students must draw their creations. If used in its entirety, this can be a very powerful and engaging assignment! Of course, depending on your instructional goals and how much time you have available to you will also determine how much of the packet you may wish to use. Nothing in the packet is numbered – and for good reason! – so that you can mix-and-match handouts to meet specific goals. A complete project will give students the most immersive experience, but a handful of pages will also prove beneficial. A word of advice before you start: this assignment works best when students are required to take it seriously. They are asked to justify their answers in the assignment to cut down on “nonsense answers.” What about an extension idea? Consider displaying all of these projects displayed with colorful images and bold lettering on a poster board or bulletin board display. You might even host a multicultural fair in your classroom in which students present and explain the cultures they have created. What fun! If you should try this, would you please email me a photo or two of the finished work? I love seeing examples of how the assignments I write are used in the classroom.

This assignment is titled “Twitter Tales: Writing Haiku, Micropoems, & Short Fiction in 280 Characters or Less.” We hear a lot these days about how our students enjoy communicating with one another using social networking services like Facebook and Twitter. This assignment allows students to write micropoems and short fiction within Twitter’s 280-character limit. This assignment requires critical thinking skills and 21st century technology skills. Students must closely scrutinize appropriate language choices and work within Twitter’s character limit to publish their work. Combining short, creative bursts of writing with this technology has popularized a new trend called Twitterature. Demand has even prompted a magazine called 7x20 where writers can publish their Twitter micropoems. The goal here is to create powerful works of literature in only a few words. What would William Carlos Williams – and other Imagists – think of “Twitterature,” a quirky, new form of micropoetry and flash fiction told in 280 characters or less? This is one of several questions I want students to consider as they strive to create powerful images, emotional pieces, and more works of short literature in this project. Is Twitter blocked at your school? Fear not. I have included some printable worksheets that can be used in the classroom as a “work-around.” The template will not look exactly like Twitter for legal reasons, but it should suffice for this project. Remind students that they still must write within the 280-character limit as one requirement for success on the project.

Absolute and relative location are two basic, important geography tools that all students must master. Why not teach students these vital skills in a fun, active way? This assignment will do just that! Absolute location, of course, requires students to use latitude and longitude to give their answers. Relative location requires cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) and intermediate directions (northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest). While there are many available assignments to teach these concepts to elementary school and middle school/junior high school students, here’s one with a twist! Students will locate all 32 NFL football teams using absolute and relative location. January 2023 update: Team names and locations have been updated. Also, it’s easier than ever to take the Google Earth tour of NFL Stadiums. This document describes 5 quick, easy steps to get started. Also, all stadiums and respective cities have been updated since last season. This would be an effective assignment near the beginning of the school year, when students are transitioning into autumn and the NFL season opens its newest season. However, its strength will help reinforce skills later in the school year as well. Included, please find the assignment with a chart for record-keeping, an answer key, a blank USA map, a political USA map, and an idea for an extension assignment. Plus, how about this idea for an educational technology twist? You can visit each and every NFL football stadium using Google Tour Builder! There is nothing to install. Simply, follow the link included in this packet and take your students on a virtual tour today.

This is an extensive 12-page lesson plan packet using Star Wars to teach biomes. I have used seven Star Wars films to teach students about biomes with great success. The lesson plan includes a twelve-question assessment that (1) asks students watch scenes from the Star Wars films to identify real-world biomes including temperate deciduous forest, desert, Mediterranean chaparral, tropical rain forest, alpine, tundra, and temperate coniferous forest; and (2) then conduct research on these real backdrops to gain a deeper understanding of the delicacy of our world’s biomes. George Lucas’ Star Wars movies are a delightful mix of heroic stories, wonderful characters and monsters, and dramatic action sequences. Millions of people – including many young adults – love these films. Look closely and you will see vibrant, natural worlds lying beneath the special effects. After all, Lucas chose many real backdrops for the Star Wars sagas – Whippendell Woods, United Kingdom, and Tozeur, Tunisia, for examples. Now, you can use them to teach biomes to your science or geography students. I would suggest your students have at least a basic understanding of the biomes presented in this assignment beforehand. This assignment might work best after you have introduced biomes in your classroom and asked students to identify specific features of each. Included please find the lesson plan, teacher’s scene guide, student identification assignment and answer key, guidelines for the research paper, and a rubric to evaluate the research paper.

The following 25 prompts worked wonderfully in my language arts classes. These prompts will provide narrative and descriptive writing opportunities. For instance, there is a prompt in this packet that requires students to think about a typical Saturday and recount sequential events descriptively. Another prompt will require students to describe a perfect lunch, which will require them to think critically and logically in a creative passage. There are several possibilities here, but the real bonus is the full-color image that accompanies each question to inspire deeper thinking and colourful language choices. I have alternated prompts in this packet to allow for daily or weekly instruction possibilities. Thus, each narrative prompt is followed by a descriptive writing prompt. Why? In my classroom, I passed this assignment out as a classroom packet and one that we would use throughout the school year so students could track progress and see how they had developed as writers from the first day to the last. Please let me know how you use these prompts in your classroom.

This assignment is titled “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Social Network,” an excellent form of differentiated instruction to teach one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies. We hear a lot these days about how our students enjoy communicating with one another on sites like Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, and Twitter. This assignment is essentially a character analysis assignment in the form of a “mock social network.” Students must imagine that characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream have social networking pages where they post their thoughts, concerns, activities, motivations, and more. There have been many creative ways to teach A Midsummer Night’s Dream over the years including mock newspapers, mock trials, and the like. This particular project puts a 21st century spin on those assignments and allows students to express themselves in a familiar medium.

Would you like a fun, challenging way to teach students the fifty states and capital cities? This set of 25 FULL-COLOR Bingo game sheets will do just that! This packet contains a few components to help you and your students practice memorizing states and/or state capitals. You will find the following items: 1. Clue sheets for both states and state capitals; 2. Twenty (20) full-color Bingo sheets containing state outlines; 3. A full-color map labelled with both states and state capitals. What you will need: markers, coloring pencils, or regular pencils for students to mark the Bingo boxes I have used this packet primarily with middle school 6th grade students, but I believe it can be modified to work with upper elementary school students, too.