Teaching Tolerance
Puppet Show
It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...
Curated OER
Magical Creatures Land
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Nonfiction Texts
Explore nonfiction writing by comparing and contrasting two different texts. After reading two nonfiction books, articles, or magazines, young scholars utilize a graphic organizer to record their similarities and differences. They answer...
Curated OER
Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
Curated OER
The Importance Setting and Mood in Fiction
Seventh graders examine the setting in pieces of fiction. In this story analysis lesson plan, 7th graders investigate the setting in fictional stories and the importance it has. Students discover new vocabulary terms applying to...
Curated OER
Reading Fiction: Analyzing Sentences
Learners investigate sentence construction in fiction. In this sentence construction lesson, students examine examples of fiction work and discover why sentences are a certain length. Learners create their own passages playing with...
Curated OER
Bug's Eye View
Students explore biology by writing fictitious stories in class. In this insect life instructional activity, students identify many different types of insects in the animal kingdom and the classifications they fall into. Students collect...
Curated OER
Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Middle schoolers write a fantasy story about time traveling back to the time of the Oregon Trail. In this Oregon trail lesson students gather information from their Social Studies textbook about life during the time of the Oregon Trail.
Curated OER
Elements of Fiction
Pupils investigate themes and settings in their favorite fiction stories. In this creative writing lesson, students discuss the reasons a fictional story works well and discuss ways to create their own. Pupils create their own...
Curated OER
Understanding Fantasy Fiction
Students investigate storytelling elements by writing their own fiction stories. In this creative writing instructional activity, students listen as the teacher reads a fictional story. Students analyze the lack of rules in the story...
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Learning to Analyze Characters
Pupils discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters. In this character writing lesson, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen. Pupils write...
Curated OER
Writing Fiction
For this story-writing worksheet, students complete 20 blanks in two different graphic organizers. Each graphic organizer guides students through creating interesting story characters.
Curated OER
Fact or Fantasy Writing
First graders see that some written text is for pleasure and enjoyment while some is for relaying information. They get to experience both types during the lesson. They brainstorm ideas for a story about a new kid in school to write about.