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Adventurous Magic
Students investigate storytelling by creating their own dialogue. In this writing development instructional activity, students read the story Jeremy Thatch, Dragon Hatcher in class and discuss their own magical object they wish to write...
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Giving Second Graders the Write Skills
Second graders analyze the steps taken in writing a paragraph in the ten lessons of this unit. Writing for a particular purpose is developed as the conventional grammar skills utilized.
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Book Report Haiku
Students study another method for writing a book report using a Haiku poem. In this book report instructional activity, students use the Haiku poem format to write a book report.
California Department of Education
How to Succeed in Life
Is it possible that six simple traits lead to a happy, successful life? Part four of a six-part series of college and career readiness lessons examines the effects of character in determining success. Working groups discuss...
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Let's Edit!
Students in fourth grade pair up with students in second grade to edit writing convension.
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Writing with Style: Six Traits of Good Writers
Fourth graders listen as the teacher reads a picture book that emphasized word choice. They discuss words and how word choice impacts a piece of writing. Students view various passages on the overhead, and highlight adjectives and verbs...
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Karen Hesse's Witness; Tolerance and Non-Discrimination
Students complete a graphic organizer depicting character views regarding African Americans during the early 20th century in America. In this graphic organizer of views lesson, students read the book Witness and become familiarized with...
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What's the Scoop on Slang?
Students examine examples of sports jargon by reading sports articles from a newspaper. They write a news article about a fictional sports event using examples of sports jargon.
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Comic Book Project
Students write a comic. In this writing lesson, students discuss comic books and why they continue to be so popular. Students create a comic book using an imaginary character. Students must present a problem and solution in their comic.
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Trustworthy Images
Students investigate metaphors. In this writing lesson, students brainstorm traits of a trustworthy person and create a metaphor for a trustworthy person.
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Encouraging Writing Through Combined Photos
Students practice writing skills through using photography to help create a writing prompt. They investigate how images can be used to create new ones that related to each other. This is similar to making a collage except now the images...
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Are You My Little Peanut?
Fourth graders explore the mass and length of peanuts by pretending to parent a peanut. In this mode, median and range lesson students graph their measurements and then use them to find the mode, median and range. Students discuss peanut...
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Persuasive Letters and The Tell Tale Heart
Students write persuasive letters based on "The Tell Tale Heart." They brainstorm topic sentences, main ideas, and details. They analyze the character and determine if he is innocent or guilty. They create a map listing their reasons to...
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Writing Original Adventures About Imaginary Sidekicks
Young scholars explore storytelling by conceptualizing a story with classmates. In this publishing instructional activity, students identify the idea development process and discuss word choice when writing a story. Young scholars...
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Revising Ordinary Sentences into Strong Leads Using "Crispin: The Cross of Lead"
Students create stories using powerful introductory sentences by creating something other than "Once upon a time...". In this sentences lesson plan, students read The Cross of Lead to base their introductory sentences on.
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Writing Like an Artist Paints Using "Chasing Vermeer"
Young scholars use artistic words when writing about an object moving quickly past a character who is standing still. In this writing and art lesson plan, students read the passage Chasing Vermeer and base their writing off of it.
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Writing Serendipitous Fairy Tale Tabloids Using Fairytale News
Young scholars create tabloid articles based on the story Fairytale Land. In this tabloids lesson plan, students read the story Fairytale Land, discuss the newspaper in the story, and then create tabloid stories.
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Narrative Prompt - Lesson 2
Second graders review the structure of a narrative piece of writing. Individually, they write a narrative based on their best day of school. After being read different stories, they share their own narratives with the class. They are...
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Awesome Animals
Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. In this descriptive writing instructional activity, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an...
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Dilworth Elementary Character Education Respect (September)
R-e-s-p-e-c-t, find out what it means to your class! After a grand conversation about what is, and how one can show respect, scholars take part in a plethora of activity choices such as role playing, a game of Simon Says, wood working,...
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Create Your Island Paradise
Sixth graders create a descriptive essay and map describing their island paradise. They try to evoke the reader's senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. They revise their paragraphs using their partner's feedback.
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Take this Job and Love It!
High schoolers need to be prepared to enter the job market during or after high school. Here are six preparational activities geared at getting those kids ready to enter the job market. They conduct research on various jobs, learn...
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Nature vs. Nurture
Eighth graders investigate the concept of nature versus nurture in human development through this series of lessons.
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Top Secret Rule Reasons!
Students read the book The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups and write their own story based on a rule that grown-ups put upon kids. In this writing lesson plan, students focus on the trait of voice.