Bring writing to life with this lesson in which elementary and middle schoolers create a display of the imagery they identify in a series of Gary Paulsen books. They read the suggested materials, identify imagery and descriptive...

Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...

Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. In this descriptive writing lesson, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an animal they want...

Kids paraphrase an entry from The Elements of Style, and then revise a sentence. They use the Visual Thesaurus and find synonyms for the phrase very pretty, brainstorm a list of intensifiers (as alternatives to really and very),...

After each of three viewings of a 45-second video, aspiring writers employ vivid adjectives and precise, strong verbs to "show, don't tell." First they compose a single sentence, then three, and finally a five-sentence paragraph. Repeat...

Students use distances on a map to draw a route, give directions, and follow directions. In this map lesson plan, students explain their route and directions orally.

High schoolers 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.

Young scholars use peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a method for learning computer programming skills. In this computer programming lesson, students write a detailed, step-by-step program for how to make a peanut butter and jelly...

Students recite the poem, "The Frog on the Log" paying particular attention to precise diction, pacing, projection, inflection, volume and rhythm.

Any lesson plan that includes time at the computer lab is a favorite for the kids! In this plan, the class heads to the lab to research Anne Frank and her life. Using both Internet and print resources (like the book), pupils compile...

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,...

High schoolers listen carefully to a portion of the Poetry Out Loud CD. They focus on the tones the poet uses in his recitation of a poem. Then they map a poem of their own so that a classmate can read it using the tonal qualities...

Eighth graders empathize with how colonists felt when they were taxed without representation. They use a metaphor of students and a school principal to describe the strained relationship that developed between the colonies and Britain.

Learners search in newspapers for words that describe them or what they like. They gather the words and use them to create a self-portrait. They read "boring" sentences and rewrite them using more descriptive words. They write 10 word...

Students work collaboratively in small groups to create and edit various publications to promote their school's activities and accomplishments. Groups work to complete these publications and publish or update them bi-monthly.

In this instructional activity, PhotoStory 3, young scholars create a story board of an original poem through the use of PhotoStory 3 presentation. Students write a poem and use it to develop their storyboard. Young scholars publish...

Second graders research facets of their community in order to create an informational brochure. After brainstorming ideas of what could be included in the brochure, student groups get information from the internet, the library or a...

Students categorize studenT toys by intelligence types. They review toy safety and function and identify the appropriate play age of various toys. They read and evaluate studenT books and write one of their own.

After a whole-class discussion of water reservoirs, ten liters of water are given to each lab group to represent Earth's total amount of water. They divide the water into smaller containers, each representing one of those reservoirs. The...

Students participate in a class discussion about what makes a poster promote a message. They explore topics from character education and make a poster to define and promote a desirable character trait.

Second graders, in groups, produce a Family Cookbook by bringing recipes from home.