Curated OER
Design a New Dollar Coin
Students create a design for a new coin after researching people who have impacted history. Students must write a persuasive essay about why this person should be memorialized on the dollar coin and present their person to the class.
Curated OER
Career Education: Office Workers
Frist and second graders explore career options. First they will watch career videos and then prepare to interview school personnel regarding their job responsibilities. They will then send thank you cards to the interviewed subjects...
Curated OER
Writing Introductions
In this writing introductions instructional activity, students read about 4 types of introductions, then analyze 6 examples and interactively write comments about each one.
Curated OER
China: Dim Sum: Writer's Workshop Mini Lesson: Dominant Impression: Writing a Descriptive Paragraph Lesson
Students write and illustrate a descriptive paragraph entitled "My Favorite Place" highlighting a dominate impression or dominant feeling in their paragraph.
Curated OER
Writing to Inform
In this writing to inform worksheet, students read a set of directions and suggestions to use when writing to inform. Worksheet is a reference page with no additional associated activities.
Virginia Department of Education
Identifying Audience and Purpose
Use a fun and creative activity to introduce junior high learners to how writing changes for different audiences and purposes. The activity begins with a reading by the instructor where teens visualize a food fight in the cafeteria. In...
Curated OER
Game Day
Fourth graders bring in a playgound item, i.e.: ball, jump rope, skateboard and develop a physical activity to go with the item. They describe in writing how to do the activity. They set up their stations on a "Game Day" and lead their...
Curated OER
The Experience of Diary Writing
Students read sections of Mackenzie King's diary. King was the Prime Minister of Canada during WWII. They relate the importance of keeping a diary.
Curated OER
Critical Thinking With Fables New and Old
Explore the fables of today along with Aesop's ancient fables. Learners will understand the structure of a fable, critically think about the fable's message, and create a lesson that they would like to teach through a fable. Suggested...
Curated OER
A County Fair Can Lead to an Exploration of Math, Science, and Literature
A county fair can provide an educational experience for students.
Curated OER
Millennium Santa!
Third graders decide what would make Santa look modern and in style. They write a descriptive paragraph that another student then reads. They try to draw the image conveyed in the writing. They read the paragraphs and match them with the...
Curated OER
Prairie Activity: Imagist Prairie Poems
Students write an imagist prairie poem. They explore various websites, view images of prairies, read examples of poems, and write an original poem that creates a mental image in the mind of the listener through the use of descriptive...
Curated OER
Figurative Language- Identifying Onomatopoeia
A study of onomatopoeia for 5th graders is here for you. Pupils discover that the use of highly descriptive language makes it possible for readers to picture objects in their minds. After engaging in a class discussion and listening to...
Curated OER
Peer Editing Worksheets
What kind of writing did your class just complete? Narrative writing? Process writing? Compare and contrast writing? Print this packet; there are 10 different peer-editing worksheets included here for a variety of writing. Teach your...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Analysis, Meaning Map
Lead young learners to understand new vocabulary with this series of word maps. The first of these organizers asks children to determine the definition and provide examples and descriptions of each word with the help of dictionaries,...
Santa Barbara City College
Structure of a General Expository Essay
A great student reference tool and graphic organizer in one worksheet! Young writers can read a detailed description of each section of a standard five-paragraph essay before completing a graphic organized with their own writing. The...
Curated OER
"Memories of Mom" Memento
Young scholars brainstorm a list of writing topics for a "Memories of Mom" book, choose one of the topics as the subject of a daily essay and combine a week of daily essays into a book to give their mothers for Mother's Day.
Curated OER
Four Corners Debate
Should the student population wear uniforms to school? Pupils express whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with a controversial statement, moving to a designated corner of the room to indicate their stance....
Japan Society
Changing Times, Changing Styles: New Japanese Literary Styles of the Late Nineteenth Century
Focusing on Doppo's "Unforgettable People" and late nineteenth century Japanese literature, this resource also leads to discussions of form being dictated by content. Explore the development of new literary styles first-hand by...
Curated OER
Perfecting My Pal's Poe Paragraph
After analyzing the compelling first paragraph of Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death," high schoolers draft original opening paragraphs using techniques identified Poe's writing. The relationship between suspense...
Film English
Music
Some emotions are indescribable, but sometimes you have to try! After brainstorming adjectives that describe emotions, pupils watch a quick film, at first with no sound. Partners share their adjectives and come up with descriptions for...
Curated OER
Experiencing "Romeo and Juliet"
Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein
Contrary to popular belief, the monster's name in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not Frankenstein. A teacher's guide for the novel helps readers make sense of key details in the text, define vocabulary words, and discuss prominent...
Curated OER
Reflexive Pronouns
What a great review of reflexive pronouns! Grammarians of all ages will benefit from this packet. The first page gives descriptions and examples of different reflexive pronouns and common mistakes. The second page holds two, short...