EngageNY
Reading Shakespeare: Understanding Shakespeare’s Language
Pupils participate in a drama circle to read Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream aloud. They work with partners to discuss Shakespeare's use of language and analyze how specific lines of dialogue within the play help propel the...
Education Oasis
Creative Writing Unit: Analyzing, Interpreting, Discussing and Writing Various Genres of African-American Literature
A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...
Roald Dahl
Matilda - Bruce Bogtrotter and the Cake
After reading the 11th chapter in Matilda, class members take on the role of Bruce Bogtrotter and re-enact the cake eating scene. Here's the catch: they must come-up with an impromptu re-enactment of the scene from the story, and use...
Curated OER
Think of an Ending
Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of their...
Curated OER
Writing with Writers
Students participate in Writing with Writer's, a step-by-step set of directions aimed at improving different genres of student writing. They identify the characteristics of different genres and follow a specified writing process to...
Curated OER
Podcasting
Students explore play writing. In this literacy and technology lesson, students choose a familiar historical event and write a play with the corresponding setting. Students write text and dialogue, produce sound recordings, and create...
Curated OER
Writing Magic
Learners write a story. In this writing lesson plan, students are given a series of prompts to promote them in writing a story. The prompts include writing a free write, writing about characters, writing about a setting, writing about...
Curated OER
Adventure Writing: Oregon's Landscape as a Setting
Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Writing the Artist's Statement
Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement lesson, students read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography and use...
Curated OER
Writing about Art:Comparing Portraits
Students compare and contrast an academic and Impressionist portrait. For this art history lesson, students look at two different styles of painting and write a paragraph as if they are the subject in the painting. They compare and...
Curated OER
Writing Myths
Students read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths that explain natural phenomena.
Curated OER
writing mini lessons
Students pair up and talk about a story, plot, or incident they are working on in writing workshop. Ask the listener to note when his interest is piqued and to share those moments with the storyteller. Those points of intrigue are all...
EngageNY
Publishing Historical Fiction Narratives
Class members discover what it means to publish their works. Working on a computer, young writers use an online dictionary to edit their spellings and conventions based on the information added to the rubric. From here, and most of the...
Media Smarts
Understanding Cyberbullying — Virtual vs. Physical Worlds
Spend a few days discussing cyberbullying with an engaging lesson plan. Opening discussion questions get the conversation started while quotes and articles continue thoughtful dialogue. Small group activities and role-play scenarios...
Curated OER
Dialogue Tags/ Synonyms for Said
Sixth graders analyze dialogue tags. In this synonyms lesson students work in groups analyzing a personal narrative. They enter the words onto a classroom chart as well as their notes or journal. The students replace tags with more...
Curated OER
Story Writing
Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. In this story writing instructional activity, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least...
Curated OER
Comic and Film Strip Writing
Students write a funny story and illustrate it in a comic strip. For this comic strip lesson, students study comic strips and determine the plot of each story. Students then write a short story and illustrate it using a comic strip...
Curated OER
Writing A Short Story with a Persuasive Letter
Young scholars write short stories. In this story creation instructional activity, students write their own story and include their previously written persuasive letters as a component of their new story.
Curated OER
100 Years War and Joan of Ark
What events led up to the Hundred Years War? In small groups or pairs the class discusses several critical thinking questions and then writes a fictional dialogue that depicts both an English and a French point of view.
Curated OER
Acting as a Pre-write Tool
Second graders use acting to help them in a prewriting activity to develop a story. In this prewriting lesson plan, 2nd graders form a character map and brainstorm ideas for their story.
Curated OER
Getting Hooked, Introduction for a Narrative
How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Using Maps to Inspire Personal Narratives
A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...
Curated OER
Around the Room Short Story
Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...
Curated OER
Style and Voice
Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.