This is the twelfth article in a series that is designed to help the new novel writer. This article focuses on how to effectively use descriptions in any writing.

This is the seventh installment of a series giving advice to the author who is new to writing novels. This article focuses on how to take your characters and use them and their conflicts to develop the plot of your story. W.9-10.3b Narrative techn, W.11-12.3b Narratives

This is the sixth in a series of articles designed to help the new writer with their novel. This article focuses on conflict and how it effects the characters and the plot of the story. W.11-12.3a Narratives

This site is a personal site from Caro Clarke. The third installment in this series looks at the four major mistakes made by beginning authors. The main idea of this article is that the author needs to be able to combine dialogue with action and know when and eliminating useless information.

This is the fourteenth article in a series published with the goal of helping the new novel author. This article focuses on using dialogue to advance the action of the story. Links on the left offer other information about story writing.

This site contains a flexible activity that teaches students how to "catch" or identify the final sound of a word.

Strategy to help students recognize cause and effect relationships provided by a standardized test preparation site intended for fourth grade. Includes simple instructions and a visual.

Site provides extensive assistance in prepraring 4th grade students for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. This section helps students identify cause and effect in literature.

This Cause and Effect graphic organizer helps students organize information from a text they are reading.

This site provides an indepth introduction to the Cavalier Poets. Includes links to related people and topics.

Read these fairy tales at this student-friendly site. You can adjust the display to fit your own learning needs. See the actual cover and illustrations, and read the text in whatever size and font family you find most comfortable.

Integrating speaking and listening builds a positive classroom community with less bullying, increased self-confidence, and greater independence, along with the ability to work with all students. This article gives ideas for projects or tasks to get students working together.

This essay provides an excellent explanation of the importance of storytelling and what the author refers to as "orature," oral tradition as opposed to "literature" or written tradition. Clear examples are provided, including several from African novelist Chinua Achebe's works. RL.9-10.6 cultural World Lit

Students explore the topic of "coming of age" through the story of one boy's life in a dystopian future, and his growing understanding that the world around him is not what it appears.

How can we challenge our own confirmation bias? Our brains are great at using past experiences to make quick decisions on the fly, but these shortcuts can also lead to bias. "Confirmation bias" is our brain's tendency to seek out information that confirms things we already think we know. Help your students learn to recognize this when they encounter news online, as a way to examine competing opinions and ideas and to avoid drawing questionable conclusions. Approximately 45 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Define confirmation bias and identify why it occurs. Explore examples of confirmation bias, particularly related to news and online information. Identify strategies for challenging their own confirmation biases.

Students practice using passive voice by rewriting active voice sentences in passive voice.

Students practice using active voice by rewriting passive voice sentences in active voice.

How can you create a digital footprint that showcases your purpose? Research shows that happiness in life is less about what you do and more about why you do it. When your actions have purpose, they lead to positive results -- both for you and the world. Help students use the power of the internet to turn their personal passions into positive impact. Approximately 50 mins.

LESSON OBJECTIVES: Explain what it means to find your purpose and why it is beneficial. Consider different ways that people have used their digital footprint to make a positive impact on the world and whether you would do something similar. Reflect on what your own purpose might be, including a problem you want to solve and how you might go about solving it.

Students practice using active and passive voice by rewriting sentences in either active or passive voice based on the instructions.