Curated OER
10 Fresh Ideas to Get Your Students Writing
Here are some enticing writing ideas that will motivate any student.
Candlewick Press
A Classroom Guide to Peter H. Reynolds's Creatrilogy
Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other kindly, and their...
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The Poetry of Giving
Learn about philanthropy and poetic conventions with an inclusive lesson about Bill Gates. After learning about Mr. Gates' humanitarian efforts in the world, sixth graders use alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm, and refrain in...
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Creating Life Maps (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Students create a personal life timeline to better explain how a historical timeline is effective in studying history. They also write a poem about themselves.
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A-B-C Alphabet Books
Learners set out on a school scavenger hunt to take photographs of items around the school that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Using PowerPoint software, students create technologically enhanced alphabet books. This is an...
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The Poetry of Sculpture
Fourth graders practice writing poetry while examining all types of art. In this art analysis instructional activity, 4th graders participate in a field trip to a sculpture garden in which they view sculptures and create different forms...
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Invigorate Your Curriculum with the Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Dickinson’s poems enliven the disciplines of language arts, social science, and even math.
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Use Digital Photos of Scary Things to Inspire Poetry Writing
There's nothing like a provocative image to inspire a creative writing session. In the language arts instructional activity presented here, middle schoolers bring in digital photos of scary objects, such as a big spider, or a hornet's...
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Using Prepositional Phrases
The class reads the book Heckedy Peg. Stopping to point out the prepositional phrases, the teacher models and guides the young scholars to deeper comprehension. Small groups collaborate to read A Sweet Smell of Roses. They thenfind the...
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Keeping students engaged after standardized testing
Instructional strategies and lesson ideas to keep students excited about learning, while reviewing and preparing for the next grade level.
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My Antonia: Biopoem Writing Strategy
Explore the characters in My Antonia by Willa Cather with a biopoem assignment. Pupils use the provided format to write their poems about any character from the book.
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Creating and Presenting Haiku With Kid Pix
Students research the history and characteristics of haiku poetry using books and the Internet. They use Kid Pix to create and present original haiku.
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Acrostic Poems Lesson Plans
Acrostic poetry is a fun and simple form of poetry for your students to explore.
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Onomatopoeia Poems
Students write onomatopoeia poems. For this creative writing lesson, students listen to a picture book that introduces the concept of onomatopoeia. Students create their own list of words and write a short poem using onomatopoeia.
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Learning Empathy Through Art
Students create poems based on the Haiku form and research about WWII. Class discussion and classroom readings of student work finish this lesson. Emphasis is placed on Standards in the Arts.
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"Ing" Words as Descriptors
This clever lesson has your students listen to story about bugs, work together to brainstorm list of "ing" words that describe bugs, create t-chart of words, choose words to place in poem template to create class poem about bugs, and use...
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All Aboard!
Learners recognize and identify onomatopoeia. They will read the book All Aboard! A True Train Story, by Susan Kuklin. After reading the book, they list and illustrate examples of onomatopoeia. Then they write a poem or story using...
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Poetry In Motion
Explore poetry with your class by having them film themselves reading different types of poems. They explore different elements in all types of poetry. They choose images to accompany their poems and learn to create video presentations...
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Self-Portrait Book
Students study self-portraits taken by photographers to explain the technique and symbolism used. They decide what they would like to say about themselves in their images and then, take pictures of each other. They create an iPhoto book.
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Edward Lear, Limericks, and Nonsense
Introduce your class to the delights of nonsense poetry and explore literary devices with the writing of Edward Lear. Learners identify rhyme and meter as well as figures of speech, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in "The Owl and the...
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Chinese Landscape Painting
Third graders learn about Chinese poetry and landscape paintings, then create their own. They view several examples and discuss the elements of each, then paint their own landscape inspired by what they saw. They then listen to, read,...
Reed Novel Studies
The Lions of Little Rock: Novel Study
A true friend sticks with you through thick and thin. Marlee and Liz, main characters in The Lions of Little Rock, have that type of friendship. Scholars learn vocabulary and answer comprehension questions as they read how the two girls...
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Ideas for Teaching Creative Poetry
Students read and write a variety of forms of poetry and create an original page for a class "I Spy" book. They read and discuss the form of poetry used in the "I Spy" books, and conduct Internet research on how the "I Spy" books are...
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Peace and Perspective through Poetry: The Dream of Peace in the Middle East
Students use poetry to understand conflict in the Middle East. In this poetry lesson plan, students read persona poems and use the poetry and a novel as mentor text to guide their own poem about peace in the Middle East.