Curated OER
Post-It Poetry
Seventh graders explore how to spice up their work using vivid words and images. Afte a lecture/demo, 7th graders try their hand at writing poetry using a lot of adjectives and vivid verbs.
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Pennies of My Life Part II
Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project lesson.
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Ocean Life Mural
How many oceans can you name? First, have learners try to name as many oceans as they can, and then have them locate and identify the oceans on a world map. They create a recognizable ocean animal using poster board and tissue paper....
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Historical Heroes and Character Sketches
Young scholars write a character sketch and present it in first person. In this historical heroes and character sketches lesson, students "meet" Harriet Tubman (played by their teacher) and discuss her...
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Show! Don't Tell!
Students write a descriptive paragraph. In this writing lesson, students define elaboration and discuss the characteristics of an elaborate paragraph. Students write a paragraph that contains vivid adjectives, strong verbs and exact nouns.
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Amazing Adjectives
Fourth graders compose sentences that use descriptive adjectives to describe a specific food and day that they both like and dislike. They should really enjoy coming up with words that describe their favorite and least favorite foods!
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Descriptive Writing
Third graders have fun using descriptive words in an expository format to describe a food that they hate. They utilize a planning worksheet that's imbedded in this plan before they begin their drafts.
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Persuasive Advertisement For A Novel
Sixth graders engage in a project to persuade classmates to read a certain novel. They create a poster using persuasive advertising language. Media can be included in the form of pictures and other graphics to make the visual...
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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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Whose Voice Do I Hear?
Fifth graders examine the power of voice in writing by completing a story using words following a particular voice. They take simple nursery rhymes, then attempt to put their own voice to a revised version. An interesting instructional...
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We Thank You, Veteran!
Fifth graders use information from videos, picture books, and relatives' military backgrounds to write a short or extended message of gratitude on a greeting card for local veterans.
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A Whale of a Tale
Students read "A Very Hungry Caterpillar" and discuss factual information in the book. They research whales and use information to write a narrative story. They take their stories through the writing process.
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Word Pairs
Fifth graders practice the trait of word choice and create a narrative writing with appropriate word choices. They work in pairs to write a story using as many word pairs from their imaginations as they can.
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Walking Poetry
Fifth graders write walking poetry using the Walking Poetry Checklist and a teacher poem as an example.
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Poetry Elements
Need a quick review of some of the elements of poetry? Eleven key terms are defined and illustrated.
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A Study Guide for The Phantom of the Opera
Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical,...
International Reading Association
Literacy Survival Tips for New Teachers!
Whether new to teaching or a seasoned pro, this 12-page phonics and phonemic awareness guide is a must for your curriculum library. Everything from a summary of research on the topic to exercises and activities is included.
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Discover Picture-Perfect Projects
Use classic, well-loved picture books as means of infusing visual and language arts in the elementary classroom.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3
Teach your class the basics of narrative writing! The resource first describes the Common Core standard for narrative writing in-depth, and then moves into how to apply the standard. Show your class the example essay and quiz them...
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Analogies
Analogies demonstrate how words relate to each other and crafting analogies is a good way to encourage learners to develop their understanding of the layers of meanings in words. This worksheet provides pupils practice completing and...
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A Simile and Metaphor Lesson
Students use their knowledge of similes and metaphors to analyze poetry. In this poetry and language lesson, students read examples of similes and metaphors and write their own examples that describe their city, television, or an era in...
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Powerful Poetry Presenting the Writer's Soul
Young scholars research Langston Hughes poetry for his use of figurative language. In this poetry analysis activity, students research the life and poetry of Langston Hughes and his use of vivid words. Young scholars complete...
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Mouthwatering Adjectives!
Third graders write descriptions of food items in order to create a restaurant menu. They use adjectives to describe mouth-watering and vivid food and compare it to a boring adjective-lacking menu. They design and share their menus with...
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Varied Word Choice
Fifth graders examine how to use a variety of word choices when writing. They discuss how using more descriptive words leads to a more varied word choice, watch a teacher-created PowerPoint presentation, and using a Thesaurus replace...