Poetry Society
Simile and Metaphor
Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.
California Academy of Science
Poetic Reflections
Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...
Curated OER
Holidays in Lands Far Away - Boxing Day
A lesson on the holiday known as Boxing Day is here for you. In it, middle schoolers read a passage about the history of the holiday, then complete some reading comprehension worksheets embedded in the plan to reinforce what they have...
California Academy of Science
Coincidental Colonization
The Galápagos Islands are an amazing place of isolated adaptation, colonized by an interesting mix of plants and animals. The class plays a game to help them understand how these organisms came to live on the island through a combination...
Curated OER
The Sound of…Poetry!
Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing lesson plan. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound words and...
American English
Create Your Own Sporting Event
Combine vocabulary development and a study of verb tenses with a general introduction to sports. Class members get acquainted with the language associated with sports, and then complete a project to design and describe their own...
Curated OER
To Quote or Not to Quote
Quotation marks are the focus of this resource. In it, youngsters discover how to correctly use punctuation marks. It is meant to be carried out over a three-day period. You could shorten it, but I wouldn't. The activities are...
Curated OER
Same Setting, Different Moods: Voice and Word Choice Using Lord of the Flies
Whether it's dark, delightful, or somber, set the mood with William Golding's Lord of the Flies. High-schoolers practice descriptive writing by creating the appropriate mood for an original scene, starring one of the book's main...
Curated OER
Rhythm, Verse and Rhyme: COMPOSING A LIST POEM
Students are provided an opportunity for self-expression. They collaborate with a partner and compose a list poem. Students practice reading and writing skills. They explore lists and catalogues--both elements of poetry and practical...
Curated OER
Stimulating Narrative Writing
Young scholars create an art project and write a process paper as a response to literature. In this literature response lesson, students listen to Lynn Ehlert's, Snowballs before decorating a construction paper snowman. They...
Curated OER
Teaching Grammar in Context: Using Sentence Combining to Teach Subordination
Reinforce sentence styles with this lesson, which prompts young grammarians to build complex and compound-complex sentence structures. They respond to non-print text and identify subordinators as parts of speech procedure. They spell...
Curated OER
How New Words Are Created
How are new words created? Study the list of ways a word can be created, and then have your class attempt to define a list of words. Word examples include snail-mail, coffee-matic, teleshopping, etc. More words and their definitions are...
Curated OER
Using Personal Pronouns Correctly
Complete personal pronoun practice activities. Pupils use correct personal pronoun form in sentences the teacher writes on the board. They review the function of a pronoun and the various cases and practice placing personal pronouns by...
Creative Educator
Amazing Animal Alliterations
Creatures can cause creativity! Alliteration can make writing more enjoyable and entertaining. Help your pupils grasp this concept by using animals as inspiration for alliterative sentences. Prepare your class for the activities by first...
Curated OER
CREATE A NEW RHYME
Third graders develop basic narratives. They retell a focused story and create a basic publication using available resources (e.g., pictures, colors, computer, copier). They experiment with different forms of creative writing (e.g.,...
Curated OER
Student Mad Libs
Learners investigate the different parts of speech by participating in a fill in the blank activity. In this Mad Libs lesson, students define the different parts of speech and discuss how they are used appropriately in sentences....
Curated OER
Anonymous Poetry
Anonymous poetry can be a way for students to express emotion and ideas without trepidation.
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing
Students discuss the importance of using adjectives in writing. They separate into five groups, each group is given a bag with an object inside to describe using just one sense. They write a description of a Hershey's Kiss using adjectives.
Curated OER
Life in Dorset
Middle schoolers investigate a city in England by analyzing images on the web. In this listening comprehension instructional activity, students practice remembering details after hearing an audio tape about a city in England called...
Curated OER
Was the Wolf Really Guilty?
Students read plays, short stories, or novels which revolve around trials, and write essays explaining or defending the assigned role in a mock fairy tale trial.
Curated OER
Show You Care
Young scholars construct a four-line poem to be used on the inside of a Valentine's Day card. They use a digital camera to show themselves to their "buddies" (local nursing home patients) who receive the cards on Valentine's Day.
Curated OER
Details and Observations IQ or the Eyes Have it
Fourth graders study Chaucer as a master of details. Then, they create a short story linking unrelated details into a logical plot with a clear setting and established characters. This lesson plan has some excellent worksheets attached!
Beacon Learning Center
Challenging the Human Spirit
High schoolers select a theme-related essay topic from Night, by Elie Wiesel, or The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, and develop an essay that relates the theme to modern-day personal experiences. The essay follows a preset rubric...
Curated OER
Our Unique Legacy of Giving
Students view The Gift of All, a Community of Givers. In this philanthropic lesson, students discuss the gifts of philanthropists they've seen. Students research and write a two page paper with four bullet points. Students include a...