Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Made Up Math
Is there a way to connect creative thinking, logical reasoning, mathematical understanding, and humor? You bet there is! Kids begin by creating creative math quizzes, which require creative thinking to solve. For example, 1+1=24, one...
Curated OER
Chinese Calligraphy
Explore the beauty of Chinese Calligraphy. This well-developed lesson will take your class on a journey through the history of Calligraphy, engage them in technique and style, then challenge them by having them create new strokes to...
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Children's Books
A challenging instructional activity on writing a book for children awaits your fifth-graders. They must use laptops, document cameras, and a projector to create and present an original piece of writing. A checklist that has all of the...
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Integrating Character Education into Lesson Plans
Students select a favorite lesson and list character traits from that lesson to serve as indicators on various questions under review. Character traits included are honesty, compassion, strong work ethnic and respect for the environment.
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Middle Ages Writing Journal
Learners create a Middle Ages writing journal with narrative, expository and persuasive prompts. In this creative writing lesson, students are given a list of Middle Ages topics and begin working in their journals. This is a long...
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Elements of Fiction
Students investigate themes and settings in their favorite fiction stories. In this creative writing lesson, students discuss the reasons a fictional story works well and discuss ways to create their own. Students create...
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Peer writing evaluation (myth)
Students compose myths. In this creative writing lesson plan students use their knowledge of the features of myths to compose their own, then share with a peer for feedback.
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Writing and Research with a Manatee Theme
Students use Internet research methods to find information about manatees. They write a story about a manatee, told through the manatee's eyes, and also a letter to an environmental group, thanking them for what they do to protect the...
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Six Trait Writing with Kenneth Grahame and Ogden Nash
Third graders complete a unit of lessons on the process of six trait writing. They identify good writing traits, read and evaluate poems, literature, and myths, utilize a rubric to evaluate their own writing, and evaluate classmates...
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American Rhythms
Students combine elements of music with poetry. In this creative writing lesson, students examine poems from a variety of authors with varying writing styles. Students explore the different elements of poetry, including tone,...
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WET Science Lesson #11: How Light Affects Water
Scientists listen to the story of Wadja Egnankou who works to save African mangrove forests. They experiment with refraction and the introduction of particulate matter to water. They conclude with creative writing about the need for a...
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Demystifying Mood in Creative Writing
Learners discover how writing is affected by mood and emotions. They learn proper mood descriptors and read sample pieces of writing to better explain mood.
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Crazy Critters Creative Writing
Students brainstorm animals with unusual characteristics such as a giraffe with a short neck or a zebra without stripes. They write paragraphs about their animals and work in peer editing groups to refine their stories.
Teaching Tolerance
Puppet Show
It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...
Teaching Tolerance
Picture Books
Aspiring artists and budding writers combine their skills in an interactive lesson. Young scholars become authors when they create their own picture books focused on social justice. The resource guides learners through the writing and...
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Clowning Around: Drawing
Kids create a clown out of shapes. They work to show emotions while practicing their drawing skills. Pupils use circles, triangles, squares, oil pastels, and their imagination to draw, color, and decorate a sad or happy clown. Tip: Have...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: On-Demand Essay “What Makes A Hurricane A Natural Disaster?”
It's time to refine writing and word choice. Learners work on Part 1 of their end of unit assessment by creating an essay titled What Makes a Hurricane a Natural Disaster? They use glossaries and graphic organizers from previous...
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What's Outside the Window
What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...
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Pizza Biography
A biography writing lesson with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...
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The Flat WSD Students
Young scholars engage in creative writing and performance using Flat Stanley. After reading Flat Stanley your class summarize their understanding and then create a flat image of themselves. Students then brainstorm ideas of how they...
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Maniac Magee: Found Poem
Instruct your readers to scrounge through the pages of Maniac Magee in search for descriptive passages or words they may use to write poetry. As they look for meaningful, sensory descriptors in Jerry Spinelli's novel, readers...
Novelinks
Words by Heart: Guided Imagery
Sad, depressed, miserable, inconsolable, forlorn: so many synonyms have a lot of variety with their connotations. Through the guided imagery activity, writers explore the use of connotation and its influence on imagery and description by...
EngageNY
Unknown Angle Proofs—Writing Proofs
What do Sherlock Holmes and geometry have in common? Why, it is a matter of deductive reasoning as the class learns how to justify each step of a problem. Pupils then present a known fact to ensure that their decision is correct.
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Guided Imagery
Close your eyes and picture a time where you decided to tell the truth to someone. What were you wearing? How did you feel? Such prompts begin a guided imagery activity for Zach's Lie. Directions for creating an environment conducive to...