Curated OER
Write Letters to Commemorate 9/11
Young scholars commemorate 9/11 by writing letters to fire, police, or emergency medical personnel in local communities or to the service men and women who fight terrorism overseas in this activity. The idea is to show appreciation to...
Curated OER
Halloween Literature Unit: Creative Writing Project
Students practice their creative writing skills and build cooperative learning skills. In this creative writing project, students review parts of a story. Students reinforce the concept of sequencing and develop stronger writing skills. ...
Curriculum Corner
Guest Teacher Plans: Kindergarten
Emergencies happen. Be prepared the next time you have to call in a substitute with a lesson plan designed to meet the needs of a kindergarten class. Throughout the day, class members work with number and alphabet cards, identify numbers...
Curated OER
The Importance of Storytelling
Students examine how African Americans escaping slavery used storytelling to communicate. They listen to and read the lyrics for the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, view the Reading Rainbow video, and write and illustrate their own story.
Curated OER
Let's Go Exploring!
Use a Courbet painting of a cave or tunnel opening to reinforce the importance of descriptive writing. Writers of all ages use sensory details to describe what the scene depicts as they pretend to be in the painting. Then they imagine...
Curated OER
Tales From Around the World
Students read stories. In this culture lesson, students read stories from different regions around the world. Students look for each region on the map and listen for interesting cultural details in the story. Students then discuss the...
Curated OER
There's a Monster in My E-Mail!
Don't be scared of these monsters! Middle schoolers make new friends as they practice their drawing, writing, and computer skills. They participate in a collaborative e-mail project in which they draw and describe pictures of monsters...
Curated OER
Beanie Baby Biographies
Learners write a biography for their favorite Beanie Babies and then share their biography out loud. A simple, yet effective idea! Everyone loves their Beanie Baby!
Curated OER
Lesson: Mad Lib Leigh!
A fun and quirky painting is analyzed for details in an art/literacy lesson. Youngsters look for colors, shadows, and details and then describe them using vivid language. They use the words from discussion to complete a fun Mad Lib-style...
Curated OER
Zooming In, Zooming Out
Students develop their writing skills. In this writing lesson, students play a word game to help them formulate a plan to write descriptions of people or objects using descriptive words.
Curated OER
Colorful Creative Writing Rebus
Students read rebus samples from various sources. They write poems about colorful places, including detailed descriptions of people, scenery, and objects. Students create small, relevant illustrations to communicate meaning using symbols...
Academy of American Poets
On "El Florida Room" by Richard Blanco
Scholars of all ages examine Richard Blanco's poem, "El Florida Room." Looking closely at pictures, pupils look for details that stand out to them, then read the poem. A whole-class discussion allows learners to reflect on what they...
Curated OER
Indescribably Excellent Descriptions
Students train their eyes to look more closely at detail and imperfections as they write "indescribably" excellent descriptions of places, people, and things!
Curated OER
Minnesota-China Connections: Writing Prompts
Students write a short essay in response to a writing prompt related to a theme or issue raised within the Minnesota-China Connection Web site.
Curated OER
Sensory Details
Students observe their environment and write detailed, sensory-specific sentences about that environment. This lesson can be extended to include the creation of a personalized story or movie of the experience (student examples are...
California Academy of Science
Tropical Belt
Where in the world is the equator? Explore a world map with your class, coloring in oceans, continents, and rainforests while locating the three major lines of latitude: the equator, Tropic of Cancer, and Tropic of Capricorn. Discuss how...
Curated OER
Who Wrote That?
Scholars creatively respond to writing prompts. They respond to writing prompts that reveal clues regarding their personalities and then use the prompts written in class to guess the prompts that belong to their classmates.
Curated OER
Geometric Art In Our World
Students explore ways art and math can be blended together in world around them. They recognizes geometric shapes and designs in artwork, and create their own artwork blending the two concepts.
Curated OER
Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic in the One-Room Schoolhouse
Young scholars, through historic photographs and stories, discover the world of the one-room schoolhouse and compare it to their school experience.
Curated OER
Numbers In Art
Help develop an awareness of the natural and manufactured environment and relate the subject matter to young learners' lives. The interpretation of the meaning of art is reinforced and its application to self and other audiences is...
Curated OER
Game Shows in the Classroom
Students participate in game show like games when reviewing material for any subject or grade level.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Write My Name With Shaving Cream
Students write their names using shaving cream. In this write my name lesson, students practice forming letters using shaving cream. Students follow appropriate conventions of print to convey a message and use spacing and letters correctly.
Poetry Society
Tiny by Mandy Coe
Introduce magic and imagination into your classroom with a poetry activity. Learners read the poem "Tiny" by Mandy Coe and use their magic tickets to visit any place they can think of! The final result is a poem describing where they...
Curated OER
Literacy Through Photography
Students practice using words to describe photographs they have taken. In this descriptive writing lesson, students utilize a disposable or digital camera to take 5 pictures of their life after school. Students create slides from their...