Curated OER
Dear Diary
Work on narrative writing with this lesson, in which middle schoolers analyze the characters from a selected piece of literature and write narrative diary pieces as the character. They work to understand the point of view of the...
Curated OER
Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...
ReadWriteThink
Alliteration All Around
Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem,...
Curated OER
Tuck Everlasting Unit
Natalie Babbitt's award winning fantasy, Tuck Everlasting, is the anchor text in a unit plan that focuses on identifying similes, metaphors, imagery, and personification in the text and analyzing how these elements effect the...
Geography 360°
Poetry Writing
Put the tips and tricks in this guide into practice in order to encourage your pupils to blossom into poets. A wonderful reference material for teachers, this packet includes definitions of poetic terms and forms as well as step-by-step...
Curated OER
Reliving History through Slave Narratives
Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...
Curated OER
Writing Organizers
Eight graphic organizers to choose from? That's right! Each of these organizers relates to writing or reading. From narrowing a writing topic, to responding to literature, to planning a writing project, you'll find many purposes for...
Penguin Books
The Curriculum Guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer
The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...
Curated OER
Sense Poetry
Access your young poets' senses and emotions with this activity, which guides them through the process of writing a "sense poem." After working on a sense poem as a class and modeling the procedure, individuals work on their own poems...
Curated OER
The Personal Narrative - Part Two
Does your langauge arts class journal frequently? Extend one of your journaling activities by having your writers choose a journal entry and take it through the five stages of writing. They will use the attached graphic organizer to...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 12: Writing With All Your Senses
What does an ice cream sundae sound like? Challenge young writers to move beyond visual descriptions and craft details that appeal to all five senses. The examples provided by the script in this resource show pupils how to create rich...
Curated OER
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Students analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and Sing'"...
Curated OER
Imagery
Students listen to poetry and discuss the imagery. They write a creative poem demonstrating imagery. They write about imagery of a picture and visit a website to read poetry tips. They evaluate poetry using an evaluation form.
Curated OER
Color Poems
Students describe colors. In this descriptive writing lesson, students brainstorm color descriptions using all of the senses except sight. Students write poems including similes, sensory images, and interesting word choice. Examples are...
Curated OER
Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students use text and photos to visualize the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. They analyze Dr. King's speech for examples of imagery and allusion and create original poetry and illustrations...
Curated OER
The Secret Garden
Students explore plants in science and England as they synthesize data from the book, "The Secret Garden in this twelve lessons unit. Comparisons between the nuturing needs of plants and humans are made.
Curated OER
Almost Famous: Three People Who Aren't in the History Books
Enrich your history lessons with books about three little known figures: Thomas Banning, Annie Taylor, and Tony Sarg.
Curated OER
Creative Writing Poem
Fifth graders write poetry using imagery and practice poetry presentation. In this poetry lesson plan, 5th graders listen as the teacher reads a humorous poem using different voice modulations and presentation techniques. They discuss...
Curated OER
Where I Am From
Students study selected poetry to gain an understanding of influences on values and personal identity. They explore language terms such as personification, imagery metaphors and allusion. After reading a poem and discussing it,...
Curated OER
Trees
Learners explore tree species based on their features. In this tree lesson, students visit a wooded area and work with a partner to describe distinctive features of trees using all of the senses except "sight." A discovery worksheet is...
Curated OER
Poetry Unit Test
In this poetry activity, students complete multiple choice questions on different aspects of poetry. Students complete 40 questions total.
Curated OER
What's On Your Plate?
Students explore the use of sensory details in writing. For this journal writing lesson, students write four journal entries after group discussion about a variety of topics such as their weekend, poverty in the United States, and...
Curated OER
CHARTING NEPTUNE'S REALM
Students design a twenty-first century book cover based on the concepts and designs of the eighteenth century.
Curated OER
African Art: Ntan Drum
Learners study African history, anthropology and culture using the lens of the art object, Ntan Drum. Lesson and instruction is differentiated for elementary, middle and high school students.