When would two paws up denote a blockbuster film in your classroom? Only when young writers create movie reviews from a pet's perspective in this imaginative expository writing practice. This engaging topic begins with a class discussion...

Known as one of the most iconic advertisements of the 20th century, Macintosh's "1984" commercial has become more of a social statement. Present the ad to a new audience of viewers with a lesson focused on identifying dystopian...

Students determine the elements of a review.  In this writing instructional activity, students investigate the parts necessary for a critic to write a review.  Students write their own review based on a film or production they...

Students are introduced to how to use the iMovie software. Individually, they write down their personal beliefs and feelings to use in their movie. To end the lesson plan, they use the elements of design to develop and create their movie...

Many regard John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath as the great American novel. The lesson plan combines a variety of strategies, including partner work, independent practice, creative writing, grammar instruction, and small group...

Students write mystery stories. In this writing lesson, students review the definition and components of a mystery. They look at a photo and write a mystery to explain the picture. 

Looking for a good social media instructional activity for your class? Then, this instructional activity is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book,...

Explore the literary concept of theme through the The Gift of the Magi. Starting with a class discussion, the concept of theme is explored through examples from famous stories and movies. Next, the class analyzes the possible themes of...

Students view a classic movie in class while taking notes. They write a summary/ review of the movie which includes the name of the movie, who wrote it, the characters and a retelling of the story. They include their opinion and how the...

After reading Ken Kesey's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, class members view the 1975 film version and then craft a critical review in which they compare the two versions and evaluate the success or failure of Milos Foreman's...

Students read Native American legends and practice storytelling skills. They complete a worksheet about the elements of storytelling and create an iMovie.

Students identify the elements and principles that appear in an illustration of a room and explain each concept in writing. They watch this movie identifying each of the elements and principles of design portrayed in the interiors of...

Fourth graders discuss main concept, supporting details, plot, setting, major events, problems, conflicts, and resolution in two short stories. They apply these terms to a movie of their choice. They compare analysis of movies to...

Fifth graders review definitions of bullying and harassment, respond to real-life bullying scenario from news, television, or movie, brainstorm possible solutions and consequences for negative behavior, and discuss how their peers...

Fourth graders read and discuss the book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. They create an original story that follows the Harris Burdick formula, and illustrate the story in the style of Chris VanAllsberg.

Middle schoolers research the art of storytelling. The stories were used by societies to tell about significant events in the lives of individuals. There are important aspects of storytelling composition and performance that make the...

High schoolers examine the New York Times review of the film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and explore the elements of scriptwriting. They read the article about the film adaptation screenplay and examine a...

Fourth graders watch a silent movie and identify the elements of a story. They complete a worksheet attached to the instructional activity and discuss their answers.

Young scholars watch a video on the elements of design. During the video, they take notes and complete a worksheet on the material. To end the lesson, they review their answers to the worksheet and view examples of each element of design...

Students practice effectively interviewing a subject and then use that interview to create a movie.

Students watch the movie Jane Eyre and complete a viewing log. They take a test on their findings.

Learners explore fairy tales. In this fairy tales lesson, students analyze the main idea of a fairy tale and interpret it. Learners then re-write the story from the point of view of another character or object in the story.

Before your students reached your morning class to learn about persuasive writing, they probably saw dozens of examples of persuasive communication in the form of advertisements. A short, introductory lesson inspires class members to...

Students locate a sample restaurant review in a newspaper or magazine. They examine the review to find the opinion of the reviewer and discuss reviews that convey mixed opinions. They compose an original review in a similar style to...