Curated OER
How Do Authors Use Imagery to Shape Their Writing?
Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their own...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Learners examine the story for use of balanced sentences and parallelism-two literary devices-and then practice using those devices in writing of their own. They combine the simple sentences grammatically into one correct sentence. A. I...
Curated OER
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, as...
Curated OER
Lesson: Patience, Practice and Persistence
First the class analyzes the painting, Rodeo-Pickup Man by Frank Mechau, then they get to work. They explore the painting through verbal descriptions, focusing on vivid language to describe detail. They then compose a written piece using...
Curated OER
Writing Catchy Introductions
For this introductory paragraph worksheet, students learn techniques for writing an attention-catching introductory paragraph. Students then read several introductory paragraphs and determine which strategies were used.
Curated OER
Descriptive Prompt: Precise Language
Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...
Curated OER
Lesson: Mad Lib Leigh!
A fun and quirky painting is analyzed for details in an art/literacy lesson. Youngsters look for colors, shadows, and details and then describe them using vivid language. They use the words from discussion to complete a fun Mad Lib-style...
Curated OER
Three Skeleton Key: Elements of Literature
Rats! How are they described in "Three Skeleton Key," and what happens to the characters in the story? Study the vocabulary and the story with these worksheets. Learners complete pre-reading activities, study vocabulary, complete...
Secondary Solutions
Of Mice and Men: A Literature Guide
Whether you are planning on using Of Mice and Men for whole-class reading or as a selection for literature circles; whether you are new to John Steinbeck's novel, or it has long been a part of your curriculum, you will find a wealth of...
Poetry4kids
Personification Poetry Lesson Plan
Scholars take part in two exercises to boost their knowledge of personification. After reading a detailed description and excerpts from famous poems, writers list action verbs and objects then combine words to create a humorous...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit Assessment Part 2: Beginning the Writer’s Workshop
Writers learn about using sensory details as they revise bland sentences with more vivid language. Next, they begin writing the first drafts of their children's books, completing storyboards to effectively plan their writing.
Curated OER
Agriculture Awareness Through Poetry
Whether you are viewing a landscape painting of a farm, examining a still-life portrait of a bowl of fruit, or reading a descriptive poem about cultivating food, you can't deny that agriculture plays a major role in visual and language...
Curated OER
Writing Descriptions
In this writing worksheet, students use vivid language to write a description of the person in a photograph (a laughing young woman). Students include details about hair and eye color, age, weight and mood.
Curated OER
Writing and Scholarship Planning For College-Bound Students: Brainstorming Time
Pupils 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.
Curated OER
Picture a Tarantula
Young scholars create an illustration based upon a read-aloud. In this visual arts lesson, students listen to the book The Tarantula Scientist and listen for details. Young scholars create a picture based upon what they imagined during...
Virginia Department of Education
Elaborating with Showing, Not Telling
This engaging activity is a great change of pace for the classroom. The activity starts with a simple message on the board “The teacher is angry.” The instructor is to stomp around, drop books and glare—anything to show anger. The...
Curated OER
Awesome Animals
Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. In this descriptive writing lesson, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an animal they want...
Curated OER
Reliving History Through Writing
Students read a first hand account of John F. Kennedy's assassination. They write an essay describing how a world or national event affected them.
Curated OER
Accentuate the Expositive: Unit 2 Expository Writing
Students analyze narrative passages in order to improve their writing skills. In this narrative writing activity students use the same style of writing that they have analyzed in their own narrative passage.
Curated OER
Setting Worksheet
Set your class up for success with writing descriptive settings with these two graphic organizers. On the first page, writers note specifc details about their chosen setting and comment on how each character views the setting. The second...
Curated OER
Child Labor in the Carolinas
Fifth graders explore child labor and how children were exploited and used in the work place. In this Industrial Revolution lesson plan, 5th graders research child labor by reading, looking at photographs and drawing conclusions then...
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...
Curated OER
Capturing the Reader With Vivid Images
Young scholars examine how the author tries to capture the reader's imagination immediately, through imagery--and hold on to it. They locate Ukraine on a world map and understand Lenin's role in the establishment of Russian communism and...
Curated OER
ADd IT-- ADjectives and ADverbs
Descriptive writing is a must for students to understand. Using adverbs and adjectives, they turn simple sentences into works of art. Each simple sentence gets a descriptive make-over. This instructional activity suggests using Laptops...