Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...

Emerging writers identify an informational piece of writing. They are provided with examples of informational writing and view a PowerPoint on narrative writing. Then, they design their own informational writing with a brochure,...

Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Review story elements with your class. They will use examples from a story to develop critical-thinking questions. Then they use a graphic organizer to describe the setting, character, and plot of the story, focusing on how they...

Learners write on a variety of topics, maximize creative and expository writing skills, develop focused writing, organize ideas, incorporate detail in writing, and exhibit varied and precise word choice.

Character development, setting, and plot? Sounds like the makings of a good narrative story. Young authors read and analyze several narrative examples, and then they use what they know to pen an original composition. They work both in...

Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class.  In this story writing lesson, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two other...

Students research child labor using Internet resources. They present the information in a creative writing piece and post it on Chalkboard.

Groups of learners get together and are given copies of the state quarter reverses from the 2002 US Mint issue. Each pupil makes up a story that's based on the scene that appears on the reverse side of the quarter. The goal is for all...

Evaluating a variety of narrative texts can help build strong writers. Pupils identify plot elements and their relation to personal experience, then apply what they gleaned from the class discussion to create their own narratives.

After a close study of the pastel drawing Waiting by Edgar Degas have the class imagine the story Degas may be telling through the body language and clothing of the people in the work of art. Your young writers then create a...

Students improve their creative writing skills. In this writing skills lesson, students learn about picture captions, story writing, critiques, poems, reports, letter writing, creative writing, and a rap poem.

Get your language arts class moving, build community, and strengthen writing skills with this kinesthetic activity. The class brainstorms interview questions from which each chooses three. Individuals then collect information about six...

Fighting a war over home soil makes a living nightmare even more real. Class members describe the experience of a Civil War soldier during the Battle of Franklin, poised right at a major turning point of the war, after researching the...

Students work in pairs to create a creature and its habitat out of construction paper. Then students write a narrative to describe the animal and its habitat.

Students investigate Chinese culture by reading their folk tales.  In this creative writing lesson plan, students practice identifying the different elements in a folk tale and examine the related vocabulary.  Students organize...

Middle schoolers create holiday story while working in cooperative learning groups, using Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express as a writing prompt.

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...

Students interview staff members at their elementary school in order to get to know them better. They write interview questions, conduct an interview, write a paragraph about the staff member, and take digital pictures of that person....

Students compose a piece of poetry modeled after the poetry of Carl Sandburg and share their poem(s) with their colleagues. They use a cluster diagram to organize their thoughts and brainstorm their ideas.

Fifth graders utilize the library in order to find the answers to three questions about The Revolutionary War. In this writing and library skills lesson, 5th graders pretend they are a Spy, and write the answers in a fictional letter to...

Sixth graders write a narrative. They choose options for plot and climax within the context of an outdoor survival story.

Students journey with Lewis and Clark. In this literature lesson, students read The Journal of Augustus Pellitier-The Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804. Students keep a journal in the persona of a member of the expedition crew.