Students examine some of the author's writing traits and then make an effort to incorporate his style into their own writing. They show how richly written literature can be used as a mentor text, or model, for improving one's own writing.

Students create a cookbook.  In this recipe and writing lesson, students brainstorm the skills necessary to follow a recipe, watch a cooking show and write down a recipe used.  Students use a word processing program to write a...

Sixth graders explore journal writing. In this writing lesson, 6th graders use the published diaries of Anne Frank and discuss the entries in her journal. Students write in their own journal for a week and create a one page summary on...

Students determine that a quest is central to many folk stories. They name stories from their own literary traditions that involve quests and write their own, incorporating a quest. They design a board game that illustrates the czar's...

Students in an ESL class read "Ivan the Fool", a folktale from Russia. In groups, they work with their partner to read the material and discuss what they have read. They write down any vocabulary they are unfamiliar with and write a...

Students identify strategies the author used to vividly convey qualitative and quantitative aspects of life in China, then use those strategies in writing of their own. They examine the author's writing style and techniques to learn some...

Students investigate Chinese culture by reading their folk tales.  In this creative writing lesson, students practice identifying the different elements in a folk tale and examine the related vocabulary.  Students organize...

Fourth graders view School House Rock - I'm a Bill to observe the process of writing a law.  In this bill writing activity, 4th graders work in groups to create two laws for the colonists recognizing the importance of the...

Show a video clip that descripes how taking a journey can change a person's outlook on life. Learners write a paragraph about a place that uses imagery and tone to create a specfic effect. They evaluate their journal entries as well.

Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...

Why are bees disappearing? Explore cause and effect relationships with this interesting question. As the detailed lesson plan indicates, start by brainstorming some of the possible effects the disappearance of bees would have on the...

"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...

The halfway mark of a series offers final skills practice in spelling patterns, suffixes, and building sentences with conjunctions in preparation for assessments that gauge proficiency. Remediation and enrichment follow the test results...

Students complete an informative research activity. In this informative speech lesson, students select a topic to research and write an informative speech for the topic. Students rehearse and give their speech in class.

Fix fragments and run-ons. Kids practice editing a piece of their own writing, read, and take notes of common examples. They practice connecting independent clauses and then use the information to edit previously written pieces. Note:...

Young scholars use the rainbow technique to add details to their writing. In this writing lesson plan, students practice showing not telling to add visualization to their writing.

High schoolers use a rubric to analyze their neighborhood and write a persuasive essay about changes that should be made. In this writing lesson, students use a rubric to grade their neighborhood and brainstorm improvements. High...

Fifth graders write a detailed description of a monster or alien they have created. They e-mail the description to another student, and the e-mail buddy draws the monster based on the descriptive writing.

Fourth graders investigate acrostic poetry by researching the Internet.  In this poetry writing instructional activity, 4th graders complete a worksheet detailing their personal activities and interests.  Students view the form...

Fourth graders experience a dress rehearsal of timed demand writing. This lesson allows students to prepare for a timed writing test in which they don't know the prompt. This lesson includes writing prompts and rubrics imbedded in the plan.

Students brainstorm animals with unusual characteristics such as a giraffe with a short neck or a zebra without stripes. They write paragraphs about their animals and work in peer editing groups to refine their stories.

Eighth graders engage in a lesson plan that is intended to develop the skills of research to find the proper resources needed to find information. The lesson plan includes dialogue boxes that is intended for the teacher to use for direct...

Third graders write about a summer event they participated in. In this paragraph writing instructional activity, the teacher models how to write about a place they have visited. Students then write their own paragraphs.  Students...