There's nothing like the prospect of writing a scary story to get your middle schoolers' writing juices flowing! In the lesson presented here, pupils listen to scary short stories read to them by the teacher. Then, a discussion ensues...

Focus on building suspense as well as evaluating web sites through creative writing. After introducing the idea of suspense and holding a discussion, class members complete a WebQuest, during which they find inspiration for their own...

Strengthen the bonds of friendship within your class with a reading of E.B. White's award-winning novel, Charlotte's Web. Focusing on the unique characters in the story and the relationships they develop, young readers draw...

Reading scary stories on Halloween is frightfully good fun! As elementary learners read several stories for the holiday, they choose a favorite and create a decorative garland representing the characters and setting elements found...

Fourth graders interview community members for a newspaper, design a business brochure, write a disappearing ghost story, and try their hands at monoprinting. This series of three lessons combines art, journalism, and creative writing....

In this adjectives worksheet, pupils match adjectives with descriptions of different types of stories. Students then read a news report and fill in the spaces with adjectives that begin with the specified letters.

Young scholars write a list of words that are associated with scary creatures that they imagine now or in their younger days. They read books that share ideas for dealing with scary experiences. Finally, they use a variety of art...

Students explore story telling. In this story telling lesson, students listen to classic campfire horror stories and prepare a storyboard organizer for an original scary story. Students share their story with the class.

Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...

Fourth graders interview community members for a "newspaper". They design a business brochure, write a disappearing ghost story, and experiment with mono-printing. They experiment with a variety of materials, tools, equipment, and...

Students think about what makes a story interesting to read or hear. What kinds of details make a story come to life? How can a storyteller create a feeling of excitement or suspense? What kinds of characters do students like? If anyone...

Hiding in the filth of a sewer, as a child, to avoid capture by Nazi soldiers—sounds scary! Scholars investigate the youngest victims of the Holocaust, the children. They research video clips and written sources from the Holocaust...

Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of...

Students use appropriate terms to reflect a working knowledge of the musical elements. Then they use terminology from music and other arts to analyze and compare the structures of musical and other artistic and literary works. Students...

Students recall Orff instrument families and specific instruments so that they can put sound effects to certain words in a scary story to make it more interesting.

If your class can sequence events in a story, are pretty good at retell, and can identify the main point, they are probably ready for reading comprehension through summarizing. This instructional activity provides a teacher's script that...

A delightful lesson on poetry is here for you and your middle schoolers. Learners are instructed to write a Halloween poem. They get to choose the age range for the audience of the poem. So, it may be scary (for older kids), or humorous...

Students read a book with each student having a specific job for the class.  In this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...

What do your young scholars see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as...

Get ready to laugh with your class by reading the book Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School. After they read the book and do activities comparing their first day of school with Amelia' they will then have conversations around the story....

Using adjectives to create vivid descriptions is the focus of exercises in this resource. A cloze reading activity asks class members to add missing adjectives to passages from Mark Teague's The Lost and Found. They then read...

Students use writing logs to achieve clear and creative thinking about the story they are reading. They then describe changes in mood that happened in the story consider why such changes usually occur.

Are you beginning a unit on interviews/ conducting interviews? This lesson doesn't contain many details, but you might want to check it out if you're hoping to lead your class in interviewing outside sources. 

Students explore language arts by reading a children's book in class. In this story vocabulary lesson, students read the book The Story of Ruby Bridges and identify the use of specific vocabulary words. Students define the selected vocab...