Curated OER
Traditional Writing vs. Collaborative Writing
Students examine language arts by completing a group activity. In this writing styles lesson, students define and discuss the differences between collaborative writing and traditional writing while answering questions in a Smart Board...
Curated OER
Traditions and Languages of Three Native Cultures: Tlingit, Lakota, and Cherokee
Students explore the connections between tradition and language. They examine the environment, history and culture of the Tlingit, Lakota and Cherokee tribes and identify the importance of maintaining languages for oral traditions.
Curated OER
Rediscovering the Lost Art of Letter Writing
Writers engage with both past and present experiences to compose a letter during Write to a Friend Month.
Curated OER
Writing Short Stories: The Fun Way
Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...
Fusco’s English Class
Journal Writing Prompts
Inspire thoughtful journal entries with these detailed journal writing prompts. The resource includes 24 prompts that require learners to write expository, persuasive, and sometimes creative journal entires.
Curated OER
Proofreading, Revising, & Editing Skills Success
Some self-paced writing resources are just better than others. This one is great. The 205-page packet includes exercises on every aspect of the writing process, from crafting sentences and paragraphs, to proofreading, revising, and...
Curated OER
Cultural Awareness/Sharing Traditions
Students examine and explore cultural traditions that make their own families unique. In groups, they discuss traditions, write about the similarities and differences in the group, and interview other students.
Frost Middle School
Write Your Own Greek Myth
Invite your pupils to create original Greek characters and myths for their characters to star in. Similar to a traditional Greek myth, the story must explain a natural phenomenon, depict a struggle between good and evil characters, and...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Traditional “Mother Goose” Nursery Rhyme
There may be some little lambs, itsy bitsy spiders, and pumpkin eaters in your language arts class! An online poetry lesson takes learners through the steps of writing a nursery rhyme with easy-to-follow steps and explanatory examples.
Poetry4kids
How to Write a “Roses are Red” Valentine’s Day Poem
Compose a Valentine's Day poem! Practicing their rhyming skills, scholars follow the traditional format to create a happy poem for a friend or family member.
J. Paul Getty Trust
Narrating a Family Tradition
After examining a piece of art, scholars discuss what they see, paying close attention to details and space. A read-aloud introduces the topic of family traditions. Pupils interview their family members about a tradition in preparation...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Celebrating Traditions: Challenge Activities (Theme 2)
Here's a packet of activities, designed to be used with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt textbook, that will engage and challenge learners who have already mastered the basic skills in a thematic unit study of traditions.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Celebrating Traditions: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 2)
Third graders needing extra support will benefit from the materials contained in this 42-page packet designed to be used with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt textbook thematic unit celebrating traditions.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
Thanksgiving 3—Traditions
Thanksgiving is a treasured national holiday, but it can look different from table to table. Through a reading passage, real-world images, and class discussion, scholars take a look into Thanksgiving's importance to the United States of...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Haiku
A haiku is the focus of an activity that challenges scholars to draft an original poem. Authors discover the origin and components of a haiku, read three example poems, then follow six steps to compose their own.
Dream of a Nation
Creating Awareness through Action Oriented Writing and Research
Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth graders...
Curated OER
A Handmade House Book with Student Writing
Use this activity for your bookmaking project. First, young writers work on making an accordion fold house book. After composing a variety of pieces of writing, they can use their book to store their writing. The structure is ideal for a...
Curated OER
Like Water for Chocolate: Family Tradition
Engage young writers in family tradition with this writing assignment for Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel. Using sensory details, learners write a narrative about a family tradition involving food. Scholars also talk with...
Curated OER
Elements of the Oral Tradition
Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...
Curated OER
Using Graphology to Teach Traditional Writing
Introduce your class to the narrative, descriptive and expository forms of writing. In groups, they discuss the personality of the author while graphing the characteristics after reading different examples from the same writer. To end...
Curated OER
The Five-Paragraph Essay: Template for College Writing
If your writers have already mastered the basic five-paragraph essay, consider introducing them to a broader application of this format. Writers consider sections instead of paragraphs, context/claim, and synthesis. Although no models...
Curated OER
The Five-Paragraph Essay: A Framework for Expository Writing
Looking for a PowerPoint presentation that models the framework for the traditional five-paragraph essay? Look no further. Here, the brief explanations are clear and concise, and color codes indicate the thesis sentence, the topic...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Family Traditions
Honor family traditions with a activity that examines the variety of winter celebrations. Class members discuss their family's traditions then complete a cut-and-paste practice page in which they match a picture to the name of a holiday....
Curated OER
Making Myths Based on Art Images
Learners don't necessarily create art in this lesson, but they do use it to inspire a descriptive story. They discuss various mythic heroes, story elements, writing conventions, and oral traditions. They view images depicting an ancient...