What do Jeep advertisements and Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath have in common? They both employ the art of the extended metaphor! Using the Six-Trait Writing model, learners begin to work on their own extended metaphors. Development...

After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...

Incorporating To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, narrative writing, and friendly letters, this lesson is ideal for any number of units in your classroom. First, read chapter 10 of the novel, noting Scout and Jem's reactions to their...

Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...

Upper graders explore agriculture careers. They brainstorm possible careers in the agricultural field and choose a career of interest to them.  Everyone writes a paper about different aspects of this career using the six traits of...

Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this instructional activity could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing...

Students explore the traits of writing in this six lessons unit. Poems, fiction, and drama are evaluated to identify writing strategies. Utilization of vocabulary and writing rubrics help students judge the effectiveness of their own...

Examine the works of visual and performing artists with upper graders. Using the works, they identify the comparisons among the techniques used. They will also review the six traits of effective writing and keep a writing journal...

Explore language arts by completing a worksheet with class. They read the story Owl Moon and discuss the rhythm of the writing and how action verbs are used appropriately. Then complete a writing worksheet which discusses writing...

Students write a scene.  In this creative writing lesson, students read The Lightning Thief and discuss the sentence fluency and word choice in the writing.  Students complete a writing assignment where they create an...

Learners investigate storytelling by creating their own dialogue. In this writing development lesson, students read the story Jeremy Thatch, Dragon Hatcher in class and discuss their own magical object they wish to write a story about....

Students write persuasive letters based on "The Tell Tale Heart." They brainstorm topic sentences, main ideas, and details. They analyze the character and determine if he is innocent or guilty. They create a map listing their reasons to...

Students explore storytelling by conceptualizing a story with classmates. In this publishing lesson, students identify the idea development process and discuss word choice when writing a story. Students utilize a graphic organizer to...

Students explore writing techniques by analyzing their own families. In this family values lesson, students view the film "The Incredibles" in class and discuss the different types of modern-day families. Students write about their...

Students complete a list of food adjectives based on the book Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. For this adjectives lesson plan, students also compose a 3 part piece of writing based on an entire day of raining food. 

Sixth graders think about writing terminology as they rewrite a catalogue descriptioin of an item for sale.

Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. For 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...

Students read three different genres of fiction. They create a story map and brainstorm possible collage inclusions. Each student prepares a minimum of two scrapbook page entries for each text or passage. Students write beside each...

First graders examine and describe the characteristics of the four seasons. Using a computer, they write one sentence about each of the four seasons and draws an illustration to accompany it. They present each drawing and sentence to the...

Learners explore language arts by utilizing word choice to compose a paragraph. In this phonetics lesson, students discuss the importance of a "voice" in their writing as they read the book Rattletrap Car. Learners write paragraphs about...

Second graders practice their writing skills on a daily basis. Using a prompt, they write about a time they surprised themselves or someone else. They use a graphic organizer to gather their thoughts before writing the first draft. ...

Second graders are introduced to the style of a narrative writing. After being read a story, they use a graphic organizer to plan their writing. With a partner, they share their ideas and decide on one topic to write about. To end the...

First graders watch the teacher model how to draw pictures and write words in a First, Next, Then, Last - 4 block graphic organizer. They write and draw in their own 4 block papers.

Second graders review the structure of a narrative piece of writing. Individually, they write a narrative based on their best day of school. After being read different stories, they share their own narratives with the class. They are...