Bolton Healthy Schools
Deal with Poetry
The stated goal of this unit is to use poetry to "improve the emotional health of young people." Budding poets read and then supply their own lines for poems that deal with alienation, loneliness, and rejection.
Penguin Books
White Fang Teacher's Notes
If you're looking for a way to structure your unit on Jack London's White Fang, use a well-organized guide to bring the intrigue of the novel to your middle school classroom. Covering a biography of the author, main background and...
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Use synonyms to make your writing vivid
Students examine synonyms and practice finding appropriate synonyms in a thesaurus. In this use synonyms to make your writing vivid lesson, students identify the correct usage of synonyms. Students replace incorrect synonyms in...
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My Candle
This is probably my students' favorite writing assignment. They obviously tell their friends about it, because every year my ne
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Self-portrait Poem
Students practice naming various features or parts of their bodies using similes and vivid adjectives. The format is extended to poetic expressions as they develop a self-portrait and extend the creative experience through art.
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All About Me - A Poem
Second graders brainstorm unique qualities they possess in a All About Me worksheet. They write free verse poems about things that most people don't know about them. They brainstorm descriptive words to enhance their poems and rewrite them.
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Use of the Simile
Fourth graders identify and write their own similes. In this literary devices lesson, 4th graders define and identify similes. The teacher scaffolds the lesson so that all students can write their own similes.
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I Imagine....
In this writing prompt worksheet, students choose fantasy or real animals to describe in a poem or story. Students draw pictures of their animals as well.
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Eliminate "To Be" Verbs
Students remove to beverbs from their writing. In this verb usage lesson, students write strategies from eliminating to be verbs, then locate the verbs in their writing and eliminate as many as possible.
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Dialogue Tags/ Synonyms for Said
Sixth graders analyze dialogue tags. In this synonyms lesson students work in groups analyzing a personal narrative. They enter the words onto a classroom chart as well as their notes or journal. The students replace tags with more...
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Convincing Characters
Learners create vivid, active characters for a story. In this character instructional activity, students discuss the characters in books they are familiar with. Learners create a list of novels they have read and discuss the character...
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Recognizing Similes: Fast as a Whip
Young scholars review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes lesson, students define similes and identify examples. Young scholars read and analyze the similes used in poetry by...
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Mining For Descriptive Gold
Learners describe places using language that is as vivid as possible. They will examine the writer's craft in describing a place by reading and discussing "Resurrecting the Miner's World." They will then revise their descriptive pieces...
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Similes, Metaphors, and Symbols
Here is an outline of a lesson in which learners examine the use of similes, metaphors, and symbols in poetry. They define similes, metaphors, and symbols, complete a handout, and create a poem using types of figurative language.
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The Teller of the Tale, Part 2
Students discuss character types and their qualities. They select two characters and write about their dress, speech, habits, attitudes and beliefs. They write a monologue as the characters presenting a moral theme.
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The Power of Dialect
Students explore the power of dialect in poetry. In this poetry lesson, students listen to a reading of "In-a Brixtan Markit" while viewing the poem. Students rewrite the poem in English or using another dialect; or write...
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I Just Want to Say
Eighth graders study poetic devices included in conversation poems and explore their eloquent messages. They read and discuss poems by Langston Hughes and Don Marquis.
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Descriptive Verbs
Students read a piece of literature and locate the descriptive verbs in the piece. In this descriptive verbs lesson, students understand the value of using descriptive verbs. Students rewrite a story they've written with more descriptive...
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Vivid Words
In this descriptive words worksheet, students read the vivid words and their definitions in the word box. Students then write a word from the word box that correctly completes each sentence.
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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.
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Language for Sale
Sixth graders think about writing terminology as they rewrite a catalogue descriptioin of an item for sale.
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Divulging in Detail
Students rely on their senses to write descriptions of an object within their view. They incorporate different parts of speech in their descriptions. They write a descriptive paragraph about their object.
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A Day in the Life of Amenemhet and Hemet
Students, after watchin the story What Does This Show, summarize everyday life in ancient Egypt by writing about a typical day in the life of an Egyptian man or woman
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Writing Anger
Learners write about anger through poetry and introduce a productive way of dealing with unanswerable questions.