EngageNY
Planning Ideas: Developing a Colonial Character Profile
The second lesson in a historical fiction series encourages pupils to develop a character profile of a colonial person using research acquired in the previous unit. Learners prepare their historical fiction narrative by responding to a...
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Using Dreams in Writing
C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength provides the model for using dreams in narrative writing. After a discussion of the purpose of dreams in Lewis’s tale, class members craft a story in which their dreams play an essential role.
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Spinning My Tale
Begin writing personal narratives in this writing instructional activity. Junior high writers start by writing a journal about their favorite holiday. They read a book at their skill level and use graphic organizers to record their ideas...
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"The Big Lie" Response Journal
Eighth graders utilize a variety of reading and writing skills in completing social studies activities on "The Big Lie." students express their understanding of right and wrong actions based on the characters through a personal response...
EngageNY
Writing Narratives from First Person Point of View: Imagining Meg Lowman’s Rainforest Journal
I spy with my little eye! Learners observe page 23 in The Most Beautiful Roof in the World and practice what they would add to a field journal. They discuss how details from the text help add to their thoughts. To finish, readers use...
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Narrative Writing for Publication
Seventh graders create an original narrative story in a diary or journal format involving a fictional character with conflict, plot, resolution and falling action within the story line. They follow the steps of the writing process with...
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Gratitude Journals
Students brainstorm ideas of thankfulness or being grateful for things and use these ideas to create a personal gratitude journal. They build a book using copy paper, twigs and rubber bands then explore different techniques to create a...
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Beginning Your Journal
Learners develop a deeper awareness of the use of journals and gather inspiration to begin their journal from their graphic time lines. They explore, ponder, test and illustrate self-expression through daily journal writing. Each student...
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A History of Journal Writing
High schoolers articulate their prior knowledge concerning the purposes of journal writing. They explore what function journal writing has fulfilled for various cultures and peoples. Students read and analyze various journal entries by...
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D.E.W. (Drop Everything and Write!)
Learners gather, determine validity and reliability of, analyze and organize information. They employ the most effective format for purpose and audience. Students write fully developed paragraphs that have details and information...
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Iditarod Experience Journal
Students use online race updates of the Iditarod race and musher information to create a journal that one of the racers might have kept while participating in the race between Anchorage and Nome.
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Persuasive Writing Lesson Plan: Dress Codes
Students examine the pros and cons of the implementation of public policy matters and the specific issue of dress codes. They develop a list of pros and cons of a school dress code, examine and discuss a local editorial newspaper page,...
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Lesson 4:Writing a Letter
Students write business letters and emails. In this letter lesson, students use the seven-day road trip they had planned in a previous lesson and contact the Chambers of Commerce for the cities they plan to visit. They write business...
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Technical Writing / Siddhartha
Twelfth graders are introduced to and produce several types of technical writing. They watch a crime video and write a police report, explore websites and draft summary sentences, write a personal vision quest based on "Siddhartha" and...
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Facing the Ghosts of Our Past
A reading of a New York Times review of the movie Beloved launches research into how the Civil War affected the lives of people living during this period. Creative thinkers select a person from an included list of historical figures and...
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Types of Journal Writing
Examine with your class the practical uses of journals and discover how journal writing can help academically and personally. Pupils discover the different types of journal writing and decide which style works best for them.
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Journal Writing
Young scholars investigate the life of Martha Wayles Jefferson. In this American history lesson, students examine excerpts of the journals kept by Thomas Jefferson's wife. Young scholars infer what life at Monticello may have been like....
Desert Discoveries
Creating a Garden Journal
Youngsters create science journals which are used to record observations from the school garden. The goal of this activity is to help kids tune into nature by making daily observations on the growth of the plants, and also to take note...
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Why Do Authors Write?
Sixth graders use short reading passages to identify, explain, and discuss the author's purpose for writing. After a lecture/demo, they utilize a graphic organizer embedded in this plan to organize their writing ideas.
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Crossing the Delaware with Historic, Cultural, and Personal Interpretations
Sixth graders discover the importance of information sources by researching the United States History. In this research gathering lesson, 6th graders examine a historical painting of George Washington and analyze what it means, what the...
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Language Arts Writing Project
Middle schoolers practice writing open-ended questions about a specific topic. They use proper grammar and syntax in their questions that are typed into a word processing file. A rubric is included in this lesson plan to help with...
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Writing and Scholarship Planning For College-Bound Students: Brainstorming Time
Pupils examine the process of scholarship and college essay writing. They develop a list of key words and concepts, complete handouts, and complete an outline of an essay.
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Getting to Know You
After going over the five steps of the writing process, pupils fill out "Getting to Know You" worksheets. They trade papers with each other, and have the task of writing a descriptive paragraph about the person whose worksheet they...
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Poems that Tell a Story: Narrative and Persona in the Poetry of Robert Frost
Middle schoolers investigate and explore the poems of Robert Frost. They read and discuss poems by Frost, define narrative and personal, write narratives in a journal, and present a dramatic reading of a poem to the class.