What is dialogue? What must it contain? Use this plan to discuss dialogue with your emerging writers. They write a dialogue in script form to dramatize a conversation. Dialogue examples are included. 

Your class participates in a variety of shared reading and writing activities related to the book Julian Secret Agent. They complete a class story chart, examine how to use punctuation for dialogue, write an alternative...

Middle schoolers write descriptions, narratives, and dialogues based on objects of art and time periods in a museum. They base several writing assignments on art objects and paintings, including a literal description and an emotional...

Third graders analyze the importance of characters in fiction writing and performances.  In this theatre lesson, 3rd graders identify the important characteristics of a fictional character and how to portray a character through many...

Students write dialogue. For this character development lesson students use direct or indirect speech to include a confrontation between two characters in their story. Students portray the emotions of the characters in addition to what...

Make a study of Charles M. Scultz's famous comic strip Peanuts in your language arts class. Class members read and discuss the baseball-themed book POW! A Peanuts Collection. After talking about themes and vocabulary, they complete...

Imagine using narrative essays to encourage change. This multi-week unit plan does just that. After reading a series of articles from Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, class members examine the...

High schoolers start by drawing Mr. Essay Man, who is supposed to illustrate the different parts of an essay. After discussing what each component should contain, writers start their essay, guided by the teacher and class discussion....

Students read and analyze a personal narrative written about a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in Guinea-Bissau, Africa. They discuss the concept of crossing cultures, analyze maps, complete worksheets, and develop a writing...

Art analysis might help uncover some of life's most puzzling questions, such as the mystery behind Mona Lisa's smile. The handout, from the Writing for Specific Fields series, is particularly useful for those interested in pursuing art...

Introduce your class to the narrative, descriptive and expository forms of writing. In groups, they discuss the personality of the author while graphing the characteristics after reading different examples from the same writer. To end...

After processing notes from research or an interview, middle schoolers turn the information into a script or dialogue for narrative, persuasive, or expository text. Use this lesson in any writing unit to reinforce proper writing skills.

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

Who is Doctor DeSoto? Start by playing a video clip (included). Discuss different methods of persuasion, and then analyze two different persuasive letter examples. What should your class be looking for? Send them off to work in groups...

After reading and analyzing two narrative memoirs, middle schoolers engage in a variety of activities, including writing an essay, developing a story map, and creating character charts. They then compare and contrast story maps, and...

Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of their...

Students participate in Writing with Writer's, a step-by-step set of directions aimed at improving different genres of student writing. They identify the characteristics of different genres and follow a specified writing process to...

Students explore play writing.  In this literacy and technology lesson, students choose a familiar historical event and write a play with the corresponding setting.  Students write text and dialogue, produce sound recordings,...

Students write a story. In this writing lesson plan, students are given a series of prompts to promote them in writing a story. The prompts include writing a free write, writing about characters, writing about a setting, writing about...

Learners identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Learners write a narrative...

Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement instructional activity, learners read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography...

Young scholars compare and contrast an academic and Impressionist portrait. In this art history lesson, students look at two different styles of painting and write a paragraph as if they are the subject in the painting. They compare and...

Students read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson plan, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths that explain natural phenomena.

Pupils write short stories. For this story creation lesson, students write their own story and include their previously written persuasive letters as a component of their new story.