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Style and Voice
Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.
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When I Set My Hat at a Certain Angle: Trying on Zora Neale Hurston's Voice to Dress-up Prose
After reading and evaluating examples of prose nonfiction by Zora Neale Hurston and other authors, high schoolers write a personal reflective essay rich in figurative language. By incorporating this strategy, they utilize voice within...
University of North Carolina
Sciences
Science writing follows many of the same principles as writing in language arts, but some structural details differ. Individuals read an online science handout that covers how to write with precision, choose appropriate details, and use...
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Whose Voice Do I Hear?
Fifth graders examine the power of voice in writing by completing a story using words following a particular voice. They take simple nursery rhymes, then attempt to put their own voice to a revised version. An interesting lesson on writing!
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A Water Droplet's Experience in the Hydrologic Cycle
Students write a story from the perspective of a water droplet on a journey through the water cycle. They use the 6+1 Traits writing method to focus on voice in the writing as they create characters that their water droplet has...
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Hoops! There It Is!
Fifth graders view and discuss the use of voice in writing through the in-your-face, aggressive, powerful messages of the Nike advertisements and the book Hoops as examples of the intensity words can have and how voice is expressed. A...
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Let's Be Emotion Detectors!
Students observe and demonstrate how to read with expression. They discuss the types of emotions and expressions to use while reading, and identify the appropriate punctuation for a variety of sentences. Students then write a sentence...
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Real World English Pronunciation
Young scholars explore various verbal and nonverbal ways to improve their English pronunciation. They create a short biography and practice reading them with an English accent, using appropriate language, intonation, and body language.
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Word Pairs
Fifth graders practice the trait of word choice and create a narrative writing with appropriate word choices. They work in pairs to write a story using as many word pairs from their imaginations as they can.
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Making Polite Conversation
Students become familiar with the polite forms of conversation that are used in this country. They role play making requests using polite forms. Students write an appropriate thank you not to a host or hostess. This lesson is intended...
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First Things First
Fourth graders complete a narrative writing (focusing on voice) and an illustration about their earliest memory. After listening to a book that sets the stage, 4th graders work in small groups to brainstorm moments they can remember and...
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A Case of Innovation
Students use strategies to comprehend technical writing. They write reports with great detail, supporting material, and clear vocabulary. They incorporate source materials into their speaking and writing and use voice, tone, and style.
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Exploring Careers
The world is full of possibilities for your ELLs. Help them explore their career options with a lesson that incorporates Internet research and expository writing. Not only will they learn more about their careers of choice, but both...
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Creature Feature
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.
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A Moment in Time
Eighth graders study poems to see how punctuation, line length, rhythm and word choice can be used to create a memorable moment. They read and discuss poems by Shel Silverstein.
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Personify This
Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.
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Newsworthy Fairy Tales
Third graders review common fairy tales and work in teams to rewrite the fairy tales as news articles. They answer questions using the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why). Student articles include eye-catching headlines.
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I Just Want to Say
Eighth graders study poetic devices included in conversation poems and explore their eloquent messages. They read and discuss poems by Langston Hughes and Don Marquis.
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Boston Spies' Report on the Redcoats
Students collect information about British actions in Boston and send it by secret message to leaders in Philadelphia.
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Yummy Adjectives
Fourth graders recognize and brainstorm descriptive adjectives to use in their writing. They work in pairs to take a taste and touch test and record their adjectives used to describe the food and knick-knacks on handout. This is a great...
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Strong Verb Image Makers
Students use description language to clarify ideas and create vivid images in an essay focusing of strong verbs. They discuss weak verbs and explore that the better image the words create, the better the reader understands the text.
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Product Persuasion
Students examine various products and analyze the marketing strategies used to entice consumers. They bring in a product they like to use, and using persuasive writing, they write their own advertisements for their products.
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Show And Tell Speeches
Fourth graders choose a category to speak about for about two to three minutes. They deliver a show and tell presentation in front of the class. They complete a rubric on classmates for their accurateness of their presentation. They...
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Talk To Me About It
Students present an analysis of a short story. Working in small groups, students prepare a presentation of up to 30 minutes analyzing the major elements in a story they have read. Completed presentations are given to the class and...