Curated OER
Adjectives and Descriptive Phrases
Students examine the use of adjectives and descriptive phrases to improve their written pieces. In this adjectives and descriptive phrases lesson, students look at demonstrative adjectives, common adjectives, and proper adjectives. They...
Curated OER
Shakespeare and Poe Teach Six-Trait Writing
A Six-Trait Writing instructional activity helps your middle schoolers liven up their word choice and shows them how to evaluate their own writing. Class members take a close look at the language used in poems by Shakespeare, Kipling,...
Curated OER
Exploring Descriptive Language With Different Parts of Speech
Learners practice experiencing writing with appropriate language and incorporating the eight parts of speech. They assess that many words have multiple functions when used in different contexts. Each student free writes in response to a...
Curated OER
How to Write About Feelings
This worksheet presents a clever way to help students practice writing about feelings. In it, six photographs are shown. Below the photos are a line for a feeling word, then some bullet points to write phrases which match what the person...
Curated OER
Go Free or Die: Figurative Language
Figures of speech, sensory details, and academic language are all targeted while reading Chapter Two of J. Ferris’ Go Free or Die. First, learners engage in an exercise to practice describing with detail. Then, partners use a chart to...
Reed Novel Studies
Runaway Ralph: Novel Study
Maybe the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Ralph, a mouse character in Runaway Ralph, thought that summer camp had to be better than dealing with his mother, uncle, and cousins. However, camp has its troubles, too. Worksheet...
Reed Novel Studies
Redwall: Novel Study
Many dream of a place of refuge to escape from the harsh world. That is exactly what Redwall is for the creatures of the forest. Redwall is a fantasy novel that tells of the trouble that comes to a quiet and peaceful forest. Resource...
Reed Novel Studies
Rascal: Novel Study
Some say a dog is a man's best friend. However, in Rascal, it is not a dog that captures a boy's heart—but a raccoon. Scholars read about the boy and Rascal's adventures while they complete activities about the story. Activities include...
Curated OER
The Personal Narrative - Part One
Read to write! The class lists sensory details based on the plot of a story they have recently read. They create a drawing of a bracelet and use the bracelet's jewels or charms to list sensory details included in the story. They then use...
Reed Novel Studies
One Crazy Summer: Novel Study
Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer describes three girls who go looking for their mother who ran out on them. Scholars complete a novel study guide with vocabulary exercises, character descriptions, and comprehension poems.
Reed Novel Studies
A Wrinkle In Time: Novel Study
Fathers and daughters often create a bond of great strength. Is Meg's bond strong enough to save her father? A Wrinkle In Time follows Meg and her friends as they find themselves in a supernatural world; Meg just hopes she finds her...
Reed Novel Studies
Old Yeller: Novel Study
Fred Gipson's Old Yeller tells of a stray yellow dog who becomes the best friend a boy could ever have. While reading the novel, learners complete sentences with new vocabulary words, answer comprehension questions, and create...
Curated OER
Story Pyramids
Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...
Reed Novel Studies
Wolf Hollow: Novel Study
Annabelle, a young character in Wolf Hollow, discovers one bully can ruin everything when Betty walkes into her classroom. Betty bullies others and targets a war veteran. Individuals read how one person changed Annabelle's life. They...
Curated OER
Eating Up Idioms
Ah, food idioms! Now that sounds tasty. Class members read and discuss various food-related idioms, create an illustration of a food-related idiom, and develop a class book or bulletin board to celebrate figurative language and National...
Reed Novel Studies
The Yearling: Novel Study
Ever known the feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place? Jody, a character in The Yearling, knows this feeling all too well. Nature forces Jody to choose between his beloved pet and his family's food supply. Readers...
Curated OER
Dominant Impression
Students explore author's purpose, are introduced to dominant impression, make a list of descriptive words or phrases and write from personal experience.
Reed Novel Studies
Surviving the Applewhites: Novel Study
The Bradys, the Flintstones, and the Simpsons are some of pop culture's most memorable families. So how do the Applewhites stack up? Using a novel study for Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, scholars answer text-based...
Curated OER
Poetry Passport
Passport photos are notoriously unflattering but here's an activity that encourages youngsters to create a poetic picture of themselves using each category on the passport as a prompt for a poem.
Curated OER
Postcard to Mom
Students research the stages a lobster larvae passes through. in this lobster lesson, students pretend as if they are the lobster larvae and write a postcard to their lobster mother describing the changes they have been through. There...
Reed Novel Studies
Fourth Grade Rats: Novel Study
Things sure change in year's time. Suds, from Fourth Grade Rats, went from a third grade angel to a fourth grade rat! Although he is not necessarily happy with his new self, he worries he will lose his popularity. Learners complete...
Reed Novel Studies
Fever 1793: Novel Study
There is no escaping fever in 1793. Mattie, a main character, soon learns that a disease outbreak has taken over much more than her hometown. Scholars discover how Mattie responds to her circumstances by learning new vocabulary and...
Reed Novel Studies
Homeless Bird: Novel Study
Many people face the struggle between tradition and desire to forget their own paths. A study guide for the novel Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan discusses the issue of adhering to tradition from the perspective of a protagonist who faces...
Reed Novel Studies
Old Wolf: Novel Study
Do wolves ever attack humans? An informative novel study for Old Wolf helps pupils conduct research to answer the question. They also decode anagrams, learn about onomatopoeia, and write quatrain poems about themes from the novel.