Curated OER
Dead Word Wall Lesson
Help your writers eliminate "dead words" (words that are overused) from their writing. This instructional activity includes a SMART board presentation that will guide them through identifying, eliminating, and substituting "dead words"...
Curated OER
Writing and Scholarship Planning For College-Bound Students: Brainstorming Time
Students 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.
Virginia Department of Education
Writing Effective Dialogue
Spend a productive hour in the classroom with this tutorial where junior high writers discover how to create snappy dialogue. The learning begins with an analysis of sample writing and discussion on the effectiveness of each piece. The...
Curated OER
House Repairs: ESL Lesson, Beginning Level
Explore the world of home repair using this ESL presentation. With terms like construction worker, painter, and electrician, the vivid and clear illustrations on each slide will help your beginning ESL learners identify various...
Curated OER
Demon Masks
Students, using a story for inspiration, create their own demon mask. They are to use lots of color, texture and imagination.
Curated OER
Irish Eyes: Taking a Look at Local Landscape
Students create landscape flyers of local landscapes using digital photography, educational software, and examples of Irish landscapes. This creative-project lesson lasts two weeks, including class time spent collecting photographs...
Curated OER
Hoops! There It Is!
Fifth graders view and discuss the use of voice in writing through the in-your-face, aggressive, powerful messages of the Nike advertisements and the book Hoops as examples of the intensity words can have and how voice is expressed. A...
Curated OER
Color My World
Fourth graders write poems using color to describe their feelings and environment. After viewing a sample student poem imbedded in this plan, 4th graders utilize The Student Writing Center educational software program to type their poem.
Curated OER
Parts of Speech
Fifth graders examine the use of parts of speech. For this parts of speech lesson, 5th graders review the parts of speech in a teacher led activity that uses a song (not included). They color code the give parts of speech on a worksheet...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Curated OER
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: Literature and Theater
Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...
Curated OER
Rhythm, Verse and Rhyme: COMPOSING A LIST POEM
Students are provided an opportunity for self-expression. They collaborate with a partner and compose a list poem. Students practice reading and writing skills. They explore lists and catalogues--both elements of poetry and practical...
Tech Coach Corner
The Hook
A fishing hook inspires this presentation about different methods for starting a composition. Have class members take notes or edit current drafts while viewing the slide show. The animation is entertaining, but gets repetitive by the...
Curated OER
Where the Red Fern Grows Chapter 8-9 Worksheet
Find out how much your learners picked up from a couple of chapters of Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Pupils answer six plot and character analysis questions and tackle similes. The worksheet is adaptable; assign it in class...
Curated OER
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Quiz your class with a review of the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. These reading comprehension questions cover a breadth of ideas but aren't overly detailed. Questions come from The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death, The...
Curated OER
Adjectives and Adverbs in Sentences
In these adjectives and adverbs worksheets, students complete three pages of activities that help them use adjective and adverbs in a clear and vivid way.
Curated OER
Character Sketch
In this language arts worksheet, students use the chart of words as a tutorial for writing a formal character sketch. The words are meant to make the description more vivid.
Curated OER
Reading and the Appreciation of Style
Middle schoolers are introduced to hurricanes by answering questions. They practice using new vocabulary words. They work together in pairs to compare the words used in different levels of the text.
Curated OER
Quilting: The Story of the Underground Railroad
Students explore quilting. They read and discuss the book, Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. They research African American quilting traditions on the Internet and name three common qualities in quilts. They create a quilt block...
Curated OER
Descriptive Words
Students use descriptive words in writing. In this descriptive words instructional activity, students learn to show instead of tell. Students enter into a discussion of adjectives and adverbs, then add descriptive words to sentences to...
Curated OER
Nudging Questions
Students choose one topic to write about. They brainstorm ideas about their topic or incident. They use sensory details to visualize their topic. They answer a variety of teacher directored nudging question to help them describe their...
Curated OER
The Painting Ballerina
Students read the book "The Painting Ballerina" by Gloria M. Buono, discuss the book, and use images from the story to create their own artistic paintings. Emphasis is placed upon literacy and creative exploration in this...
Curated OER
J. Peterman Descriptive Writing Assignment
Twelfth graders hone descriptive writing skills by making a J. Peterman Catalogue. They bring to class a favorite piece of clothing or jewelry item and create their own description of it. They accompany each description with a hand-drawn...
Curated OER
Delicious Words
Fifth graders work together to make simple menus more interesting by adding descriptive words. This plan works well with the Six Traits of Writing as it covers the trait of word choice. This is a really fun way for students to practice...