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...

Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...

Students explore food. In this nutrition activity, students investigate multiple facets of healthy eating and how the fast food industry impacts our society. They will participate in class discussions, read from their text-book, and...

Our uniqueness should be celebrated, not teased. The story Chrysanthemum addresses having a distinct name and dealing with different perceptions. Pre- and post-reading questions are listed to help your learners understand...

What is on your pupils' "Bucket Lists" - the list of things they want to do before they die? Their choices of activities for this list could be very revealing, and is a great source of inspiration for a personal poem. The activity...

The first of a three-part series on bullying, this plan has class members present skits about bullying, write and sign an anti-bullying pledge, and complete a service project. For the skit, learners use information from previous lessons...

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...

Seventh graders create an original narrative story in a diary or journal format involving a fictional character with conflict, plot, resolution and falling action within the story line. They follow the steps of the writing process with...

Stereotyping and discrimination are explored in this social justice instructional activity.  Students listen to the book Dragon of Brog, in which mythical characters experience discrimination. Then, they sculpt a magical character...

The wood sculpture Nkisi Nkondi is said to have been used to aid in conflict resolution. Learners pretend they are journalists reporting on a conflict in which the figure was used to resolve an issue. A creative and interesting use of...

Students make New Year's Resolutions. In this resolution lesson, students listen to the story Peace Begins with You by Katherine Sholes. They discuss different ways they can help make their world more peaceful and create a...

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...

Read a Hans Wilhelm story and complete creative writing activities. Start by reading Tyrone, the Horrible and discuss the behavior in the book. Then split your class into groups to create a "bully" situation and discuss possible...

Fourth graders participate in a variety of activities designed to promote cooperation and positive conflict resolution. In cooperative groups, they create a comic strip or poster, play cooperative musical chairs, write a journal entry...

Eighth graders create an original scene or short one-act play within specified guidelines. Assessment is based upon the performance of student-created scenes during class time. Rubrics for assessment and connection to state standards...

Seventh graders research Greek mythological characters. They write about problems faced by middle school-aged children and how the character would handle them. Students also create story boards to accompany their oral narratives.

Students demonstrate their knowledge of panthers by writing a play on the subject.  In this animal life lesson, students view a slide-show on school computers of a veterinary exam of a panther.  Students utilize this...

Your health class reads two biographical stories: one about a girl who has allergies and the other about a girl who has asthma. They watch a quick cartoon on the KidsHealth website about immunity and take the related online quiz. You...

If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...

Fifth graders investigate bullying and nonviolent ways to deal with bullies.  In this conflict management lesson, 5th graders discover the definition for the word ahimsa and examine ways to incorporate that philosophy into their...

Students explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.

Fourth graders investigate cultural differences and determine how this knowledge will help resolve conflicts. They look at how the history of Kentucky was influenced by Native Americans. They design a conflict resolution presentation...

Students write a fictional story into a comic book format. In this creative writing lesson, students analyze example comics and discuss the format. Students create a comic book using imaginary characters that find a solution to a problem.

Second graders create a story and role-play the story using edible items to create a final story-video project. In this edible story lesson, 2nd graders write their own stories using literary format and elements. Students then create a...