A line from Anne Frank's diary reads, "What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again." Indeed, that is the hope for scholars who study her diary. The 19-page guide to the Definitive Edition of The Diary of a Young...

A superb interdisciplinary approach highlights this lesson which incorporates space science knowledge and narrative skills. After reading The Magic School Bus, two excellent poems, and watching a video, all about our solar system, young...

Writer's workshop is an idea that's been around for years. Students write, read, and comment on each others writing in an authentic and thoughtful way. Here is a 21st century twist, 6th graders will use the class blog to create a...

Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...

They always say to write what you know. This approach is used to get middle schoolers prepared to write novels of their own. Using a favorite book as a model, potential novelists respond to prompts that ask about characters, plot, main...

Personify your Inner Editor. After making a richly detailed paper doll of your Inner Editor, put him or her in your locker, under your bed or buried in a time capsule in your backyard, but not near where you like to write. Refuse to...

It's time for your scholars to become book reviewers! Start with a fun review of foods: are they good or gross? Learners apply these evaluation techniques to books, recording their thoughts on large pieces of butcher paper. Simply have...

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...

Focus on building suspense as well as evaluating web sites through creative writing. After introducing the idea of suspense and holding a discussion, class members complete a WebQuest, during which they find inspiration for their own...

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

There are many ways to tell a story; Richard Patterson's three-dimensional painting If serves as the inspiration for some creative storytelling for elementary school writers. They watch a clip from Toy Story (you'll need to...

Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...

Did you know that November is Novel Writing Month? In the first of a series of lessons, class members are introduced to the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project.

What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...

This unit introduces book clubs/literature circles to lower elementary classes, but could be adapted to higher grades. It outlines the anticipatory activity that includes a WebQuest, a discussion to clarify questions about the unit,...

Where would Harry Potter be without Ron Weasley? Where would Holmes be without Watson? Where would a good narrative be without an interesting supporting character? Encourage character analysis with this resource, which includes six...

The loggerhead turtle is a fascinating species, and budding readers learn all about it in Nicola Davies' account One Tiny Turtle. This informational narrative offers excellent vocabulary in context, and you'll...

A reading of Theodore Roethke’s dark "Root Cellar" and Sylvia Plath’s more abstract "Mirror" launches a discussion of imagery and personification in poetry.  After finding examples of personification in the poems, class members...