Curated OER
Getting Hooked, Introduction for a Narrative
How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...
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Come To Your Senses
Write narratives that include ideas, observations, or memories of an event or experience, and be sure to use concrete sensory details! Groups utilize a few of the famous I Spy books in order to create narratives that utilize sensory...
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Reading Poetry
Present your class with an overview of poetry-related information. The slides are clearly organized by topic, starting with reading poetry, ending with myths, and touching on everything from the five senses to open and closed forms of...
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Experience This!
What would you do if you had to go to school all day every day? Tillie tackles this problem in Sharon Creech’s A Fine, Fine School. After a discussion of how Tillie got the principal to change his ways, brainstorm with your class...
Curated OER
What Does Art Sound Like?
Help your charges investigate visual art by identifying sounds that are associated with the images. They view art galleries online and discuss which sounds would be present if the image was a real life situation. Additionally, they...
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The Learning Network Fill-In: When the Food Writer Is a Ghost
Introduce your class to ghostwriting while practicing comprehension. From The New York Times' The Learning Network, this article covers the topic of ghostwriting for cookbooks. There are blank spaces and a word bank. Learners can use the...
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"Leap, Plashless": Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination
Students read and explore one of Emily Dickinson's nature poems, "A Bird Came Down the Walk-" through interaction with a variety of art forms. Clips of a hymn to hear meter and the viewing of bird images exposes them to the language and...
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Pretend Memoirs
Elementary schoolers explore the concept of a memoir. The teacher tells a story from his/her childhood as an example of what a memoir is; a written account of one's past. The kids are asked to pretend that they are now adults, and are...
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The Stories of Status Symbols
A good writer needs to be observant and have an imagination. Hone those creative writing skills with an activity inspired by a very old Chinese artifact. Learners examine the piece Mandarin Duck Rank Badge, and then write a story from...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 2, Lesson 10
Is it better to be dead than to "dwell in doubtful joy," as Lady Macbeth suggests in Act 3.2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth? Using the resource, scholars work in small groups to discuss how Lady Macbeth and Macbeth begin to unravel following...
American Battlefield Trust
Civil War Civilian Experience
Imagine what would it have been like to watch a dramatic battle of the Civil War in your own backyard. Young scholars ponder this scenario while looking at firsthand accounts from the Battle of Franklin, along with modern photos of the...
Curated OER
The Month of April-Writing Prompts
In this writing prompt activity, students complete a writing prompt for each day in April. Worksheet is a series of prompts, 3 per page. A reference web site is given for additional activities.
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Use Your Imagination: Reading to Learn
Students examine the process of visualization as a means of comprehending what happens in a story. They read a chapter in a novel, visualize what happened in their mind and then draw a picture of what they visualized. They write two...
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Hurricane
Students use children's literature in order to investigate the concept of hurricanes and how they occur. The metaphor is used to describe a play area that is magical. They use their imaginations and write about their favorite places to...
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Who is Gertrude, Really?
Students form opinions about Gertrude by imaginatively creating 5 entries for Gertrude's journal. Each journal entry reveal much about Gertrude's character at pivotal moments in the play.
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Wagons West
Students assume the personality of a pioneer on a wagon train and create daily journals. In this journal writing lesson, students read excerpts from The Way West: Journal of a Pioneer Woman. Students use their...
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Open the Doors to Imagination
Students practice visualizing what they read and hear in a text. They listen to selected passages from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe read by the instructor. Students discuss the visual pictures they see when listening to the...
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Arthur's New Puppy Directed Reading Lesson (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Students listen and take part as teacher and classmates give a definition and examples of responsibility, then brainstorm what Arthur needs to do to prepare for his puppy's arrival. The story be read as a total group and then talked about.
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What's Cooking
Third graders practice following and writing directions through the use of simple recipes. First they write directions for creating an ice cream sundae. Then they make the sundaes using the recipe written by their classmates.
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Telling a Story
Young scholars create a story about a picture. For this writing lesson, students select a picture and write a story about what happened in the picture. Young scholars are encouraged to write a story with a beginning, middle, and end.
Curated OER
Total English Elementary: Next Year, I'm Going to...
In this English review instructional activity, students consolidate the use of "going to" as they write 18 sentences following the prompts.
Curated OER
Kool Kumara Lesson Plans
Pupils examine the Kaipara region of New Zealand and practice research and writing skills. In this social studies lesson, students use a template to create their own Kool Kumara Pal. Pupils explore a day in the life of...
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Growing Seeds Indoors: Interview a Seed
For this creative writing worksheet, students apply knowledge about seeds to write an interview using the who, what, where, when, and how questions to ask a seed questions and to answer them. Students write one complete interview.
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Fairy Tales
Students explore fairy tales. In this fairy tales lesson, students analyze the main idea of a fairy tale and interpret it. Students then re-write the story from the point of view of another character or object in the story.