EngageNY
Analyzing Point of View: Inferring about the Natural Disaster in Eight Days
Who is telling the story? Readers take a look at the text Eight Days to determine if the story is told in first or third person. They then discuss in groups and complete a shared writing activity to describe how the narrator's point of...
EngageNY
Revisiting Big Metaphors and Themes: Revising and Beginning to Perform Two-Voice Poems
Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...
Curated OER
Poetic Elements Are Fun!
Engage your class in the elements of poetry with a series of lessons and activities. The plans cover simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and imagery. Learners come up their their own metaphors, identify poetic...
Curated OER
Lesson: What's your Passion?
What inspires people and fuels their creative endeavors? Passion! Find out what drives your learners as they examine a painting as it relates to a person's passion. They create a reflective visual or written piece that describes their...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Curated OER
Get Your Mojo Workin': Part 1 Writing Your Very Own Blues Tune!
Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A instructional activity like this ties into American history and African-American musical...
Media Smarts
Movie Heroes and the Heroic Journey
An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...
Curated OER
Creative Writing: Halloween Theme
Second graders are read a book about different authors. They identify the parts of a story such as plot and setting. They brainstorm topics for their own paper and begin the writing process. They create a final copy of their story about...
EngageNY
Launching Readers Theater Groups: Identifying Passages from Esperanza Rising for Readers Theater that Connect to the UDHR
Teach young readers how to compare two texts and select passages that exemplify a specific theme with Lesson 6 from Unit 3. Begin by modeling how an expert reader selects examples from a text, performing a think aloud on how Article 2 of...
Curated OER
The Apprentice: A Study of Business and Technical Writing
Middle schoolers explore business practices by creating a portfolio in class. In this business writing lesson, students identify the causes for a businesses success and failure before deciding on a business they would like to create....
Curated OER
Monster Writings
Fourth graders practice descriptive writing by describing a fictitious monster they created. In this language arts lesson, 4th graders illustrate an image of a monster character they imagine and practice using their vocabulary to...
Curated OER
Fairy Tales Unit Ideas
Learners listen to children's fairy tales and watch them on a video. Afterward, they list the heroes from each story. Students write a short paragraph about a typical day for the hero. Learners dress up like their character and give a...
Curated OER
Monster: Guided Imagery
How would you feel if you were on trial for murder—and you were only 16 years old? Put yourself in Steve Harmon's shoes before reading Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Kids listen to music that fits the theme of the book before...
EngageNY
Blending Informative and Narrative Writing: Transforming Research Notes into Field Journal Entries
The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries.
Curated OER
Trek Across America
Bring a time machine into your classroom with this writing lesson, in which young writers project themselves back in time and have a variety of choices from that point forward. They either write a conversation with a historical figure,...
Mascil Project
Container Logistics
Here's a creative lesson that lets pupils be creative as well! While considering many different factors, learners devise a plan to increase the efficiency of container shipments. The design of the activity encourages creative,...
Curated OER
Whale Song Acrostic
What do whales sing about? Invite your class to imagine the thoughts of whales before writing acrostic poems on the topic. The plan blends together a bit of life science with plenty of opportunities for creativity and writing.
Weber County Library
Abstract Ideas Explored: Writing with Extended Metaphor
A 25-page packet includes eight detailed lesson plans centered around poems by Emily Dickinson. Each lesson begins with a burning question that students attempt to answer by using evidence from Dickinson's poems.
Curated OER
The Use of Substitution As a Creative Thinking Tool
Learners practice using substitution as a creative way of thinking about writing and try to substitute song lyrics, food items, rhythm movements and more. In this substitution lesson plan, students create a new candy, and create...
Curated OER
Picture Perfect: Reading and Narrative Writing
Students will create a fictional narrative based on the cover of a picture book provided by the teacher. In this narrative writing lesson students incorporate all story elements and use strategies to engage the reader.
Curated OER
Stacy Bodin's "Digesting a Story" Unit
Second graders create a story and role-play the story using edible items to create a final story-video project. In this edible story lesson, 2nd graders write their own stories using literary format and elements. Students then create a...
Curated OER
Creative Inventions
Ninth graders develop ideas for an invention and write a persuasive essay explaining why their invention is best. In this invention essay instructional activity, 9th graders review persuasive essay writing. Students create a graphic web...
Curated OER
1900 America: Historical Voices, Poetic Visions
High schoolers examine the United States at the turn of the century. Using primary source documents, they interpret them within a specific historical context. Using this information, they write a poem with metaphors and a specific meter...
Curated OER
Talking About Your Name in Math Terms
Add imagination and creativity to your math lesson. Young mathematicians investigate ways to express their names in mathematical terms. For instance, they can count the number of letters, analyze the geometric shapes of the letters, or...