Curated OER
Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
Curated OER
Woodsies "Extraordinaire"
Allow your class to use their imaginations and create fun creatures with various wooden shapes and other embellishments. What a great way to encourage your young artists to stretch their minds!
Great Schools
Different Types of Writing
What type of writing is this? Learners read a brief introduction to various types of text: instructions, explanations, poems, folk tales, novels, informative, and arguments. The introduction doesn't explain these, so...
British Council
The Christmas Truce
Imagine calling a truce in the middle of a war, singing Christmas carols with the enemy, exchanging gifts, and playing a game of football. Such a thing actually happened. Class members listen the stories of soldiers who experienced...
PreKinders
The Animals of the Umbrella
If you're reading Jan Brett's The Umbrella, a presentation featuring the animals from the story is an excellent way to augment your lesson. Featuring gorgeous photographs of rainforest animals, as well as Spanish phrases and English...
Dick Blick
ArtStraw Architecture
While architects and engineers don't often build with plastic straws and foam board, the same principles still apply. Challenging both the creativity and critical thinking of students, this engaging design project is perfect...
Curriculum Corner
March Writing Ideas
So many things are happening in March, why not write about them? From Dr. Seuss' birthday to Peanut Butter Lover's Day to St. Patrick's Day, the prompts listed in the worksheet are sure to spark creative writing.
DiscoverE
Curious George Sailboat
A whole-group discussion kicks off a hands-on activity that challenges young engineers to build a sailboat using reusable materials. Participants gather recycled items to assemble their one-of-a-kind sailboat and test its ability to...
Curated OER
KinderArt Drawing for Kids
Students illustrate a creative adventure idea. For this arts and crafts lesson, students design drawings based on where they would like to go for an adventure. Before creating their illustrations, students brainstorm the...
Curated OER
Wagons West
Students assume the personality of a pioneer on a wagon train and create daily journals. In this journal writing lesson, students read excerpts from The Way West: Journal of a Pioneer Woman. Students use their...
Curated OER
Imagining China Through Words
Middle schoolers create a drawing from a written description to examine images of China in European art. In this art analysis lesson, students create a visual image from a written description of an object. Middle schoolers compare their...
Curated OER
Creative Writing Lesson Plan: Combination Creature
Young scholars navigate through an online interactive virtual zoo to create imaginary animals by combining different parts of real animals. They write a short story about their combination creature.
Curated OER
Color and Composition for the Creative Quilter
Students explore free-motion machine quilting through three exercises. They enhance patterns, make their own patterns and stitch a realistic quilted drawing. Students create a color wheel and develop a variety of methods that enable them...
Curated OER
Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination: "Leap, plashless"
Students analyze the poems of Emily Dickinson and write their own nature poem. For this poetry analysis lesson, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the use of imagery, sound, and metaphor. Students write their own nature poem...
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...
Film English
World Builder
If you could build your own world from the ground up, what would you include? Ask your pupils this question, and have them write about their worlds and share with partners. Then, show the short film, which includes some impressive world...
Curated OER
Photo Quilt Square
Build creative thinking and organization skills with a beautiful quilting project. Young photographers use a digital camera and computer to create photo transfers, which they will use to create a photo quilt square. They sew or embroider...
Curated OER
Lesson: Wish You Were Here...
The painting Arcadia features a lovely landscape depicting aspects of ancient Greek life. Little ones use their imagination to put themselves in the painting. After analyzing the details and artistic elements of the painting, they write...
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.
Curated OER
Writing Leads
Creative writing allows your students to explore their imagination and connect to literature in a personal way. This presentation will help you discuss what a good writing lead, or attention grabber is. Included are a list of lead types...
John F. Kennedy Center
Writing a Myth
Tap into the imaginative minds of young learners with a creative writing activity. After reading the myth Giants and Mosquitoes, this student guide supports young writers as they brainstorm and develop their very own creation myths....
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Dinosaurs
Two books—Dinosaurs by Gail Gibbons and Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hof—begin a learning experience in which scholars complete three creative, imaginative, and real-world activities. First, pupils create a puzzle featuring their...
Smithsonian Institution
Autobiography through Objects
Show youngsters how objects can tell a story! Here your class will learn about Cuban salsa dancer Celia Cruz by analyzing pictures of her dress, her shoes, and her marriage certificate. After describing Cruz's items and imagining what...
University of Arizona
Identity Repair
In a detailed, creative writing task, potential poets analyze how race, identity, and society categorize and (mis)represent us. The learning begins with an imaginative anticipatory set where students describe unique situations that...