Curated OER
Reflecting/Writing after a field trip or other experience
Young scholars reflect on field trips in writing. For this journal writing lesson, students write about a recent experience by using 4 of their senses to tell what they remember. They turn these into poetry.
Curated OER
Describing How to Get a Shop or Restaurant
In this descriptive paragraph learning exercise, students first draw a map showing how to get to a location. Students then write sentences explaining how to get to a location using directional phrases. Students then write the sentences...
Curated OER
Digital Storytelling
Sixth graders write a creative story and turn it into a digital storybook. In this digital storytelling instructional activity, 6th graders write a creative story, illustrate the story, and then use computer technology to turn their...
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
Writing Similes
Fifth graders identify and write similes. They define simile and discuss different examples, and with the help of a thesaurus, write original similes that compare the colors of crayons to objects or feelings. Students copy their rough...
Curated OER
I Imagine....
In this writing prompt worksheet, students choose fantasy or real animals to describe in a poem or story. Students draw pictures of their animals as well.
Curated OER
Comic Book Project
Young scholars write a fictional story into a comic book format. In this creative writing lesson, students analyze example comics and discuss the format. Young scholars create a comic book using imaginary characters that find a solution...
Curated OER
Letters of Inquiry
Students compose letters of inquiry. In this written communication lesson plan, students read sample letters of inquiry about sites in Washington, D.C. Students then write their own letters of inquiry to the Washington, D.C. Chamber of...
Curated OER
Social Movements in American Politics
In this Civil Rights Movement worksheet, students follow the provided instructions to write term papers on the social movement and how it was impacted by American politics.
Curated OER
Adjective? What's an Adjective?
Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...
Curated OER
A Better Class of Journal-ists
Young academics create a current events journal by skimming newspapers for articles that fit defined guidelines for informational texts. After cutting out two articles each week to add to their journals, they write a brief description of...
Curated OER
Geography of Canada
All about Canada! Learners explore the geography and providences of Canada by watching videos, studying maps and conducting internet research. By the end of this lesson, your class should be able to locate major areas and compare and...
Curated OER
Express Yourself
First graders identify details that make reading and writing more interesting. They classify events, people, places, and things and attach specific characteristics to each one. Everyone generates describing words on a worksheet that's...
Curated OER
Why Transition?
Help your class transition into better writers with this lesson, which guides them through the process of adding transitions to increase sentence fluency and organization. The activity is designed for a classroom with a SMART board, but...
Curated OER
Blogging To Create A Community of Writers # 5 of 7
Here is lesson 5 from a 7 lesson unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this lesson is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use material data to study the past. They compose a...
Curated OER
The Perfect President
Students advertise for the perfect president. In this presidential duties lesson, students determine the attributes that the ideal president should have and then write job descriptions for the role.
Curated OER
Technological Grand Conversations
Conduct a written literary discussion and diminish stress about public writing. Class members, already arranged into literature circles, compose and post responses to novels, signing with initials or class number. The process continues...
Curated OER
MLA Citation practice
Do your writers have a hard time properly citing their sources in MLA style? Use this SMART board activity to practice these skills in a fun, interactive way. After debating a topic in class (the lesson uses "random drug testing in...
Curated OER
Creating Bloggers
Blogs provide the motivation for this richly detailed writing lesson plan. After viewing blogs on various websites, class members pick topics, create a blog, and post an entry. Your bloggers then evaluate their work using evaluation...
Beyond Benign
Intended Occupants
Here's a lesson you can really build on! Middle schoolers describe the occupants of an imaginary house during a character-building lesson. They create a cast of characters who share living space and provide details about their attitudes,...
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 2
After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...
Curated OER
Fractured Fairy Tales
Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Poems vs. Lyrics
Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...
National Park Service
The Poet's Toolbox
If you need a lesson for your poetry unit, use two poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ("Rain in Summer" and "The Slave in the Dismal Swamp") and a resource on Elements of Poetry. The lesson plan guides you through activities...