Creating a good main character is a must when writing a creative narrative or novel. Elementary aged writers create main characters for the novel they are writing. They first use themselves as a models, then create a character as a...

As a class, young writers learn how to develop a strong supporting character. They think and discuss a good friend they know, they use that friend as a basis for a potential supporting character. They create a supporting character as a...

Combine participial phrases and creative writing with this lesson, which is equally helpful for writing skills and conventions. After a mini-lesson on participial phrases and reading the picture book Dancing in the Wings, pupils use a...

Here is a fine lesson on teaching ways to use context clues. Upper graders split up into groups and use sticky notes to cover up five words in a passage of text. The passages are rotated to the other groups, and learners must use their...

Select an article that explores people of another culture. After reading it as a class, distribute copies of this worksheet. It asks for a brief summary, encourages readers to make text-to-self connections, and asks learners to identify...

Review the narrative writing process with your emerging story writers. They read a sample narrative and identify five vague verbs that could be replaced with a more exact, exciting verb. Then they write a personal narrative making sure...

Students use physical poses and vocal choices to create emphasis in communication. For this exaggerated Poetry lesson, students use physical movement and vocal choices to exaggerate an expression make a connection between literary...

Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....

Young scholars engage in a lesson that is about the meaning of a verb or adverb. They perform sketches with the subject matter of the words. The goal is for the actors to show the meaning of the verb or adverb with an action.

How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...

Learners practice mirroring human moves by performing a dance in class.  In this physical education lesson, students utilize different spaces around them to perform a dance expressing their full motion.  Learners cooperate in...

Nearly every people group has some type of dance, and those dances usually reflect history and culture. Little researchers write an essay on the cultural significance of the Hawaiian hula dance. They research the role of the hula dancer...

A reading of Panic in Paris launches a review of the elements of narrative writing. Class members work in groups to find narrative devices in the book and record their findings on a provided worksheet. Using the completed pages,...

Grrrrr, gargoyles are on the loose! Young artists are familiarized with the history of gargoyles, examine pictures of them, and hear a story about them. Then, they draw a gargoyle and write down exactly how they did it (procedural...

Welcome to Jamestown! Third and fourth graders read and analyze primary source documents about Jamestown or Fort James. They read and analyze descriptions of Fort James from primary sources. They access a website to explore more...

Are you in need of a new way to teach learners sequence of events and how to interpret a character's external motivations? Why not engage them in dramatic play? The class will use tableaux to convey the sequence of events in a familiar...

Enhance your writing with describing words. After reading 12 simple sentences, learners circle the adjectives and underline the nouns they describe. Additionally, they write a few of their own sentences with adjectives at the bottom of...

Read about all the jobs astronauts do and all the responsibilities they have while on a spacewalk. After reading the what, the why, and the how about spacewalks, readers respond to six comprehension questions.

Modify different verbs with a worksheet about adverbs. Kids read 12 sentences and circle the adverbs in each, in addition to underlining the verb that they describe. Next, they write their own sentences and indicate the appropriate...

Read about why the osprey is also known as the fishhawk in a short reading passage that describes where they live, what they eat, and what they look like. After reading, individuals respond to four short answer questions based on...

Learners analyze people's choices from different points of view. They read different scenarios and explain how they would react personally in that situation. Then they analyze what they would do in another character's position and...

Study the features of nonfiction text with a set of comprehension and analysis materials. Readers learn about Alexander Graham Bell with questions about the text, writing prompts, and proofreading activities.

Students explore language arts by participating in a newspaper analysis activity. For this journalism lesson, students identify how newspapers present stories, who is writing them and how they can obtain information from them....

Students tell a story, describe a picture, share about a favorite toy from home and are recorded using an iPod with a voice recorder. They create a playlist of their voice and reading samples to illustrate progression over time.