Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
From Ben’s Pen to Our Lives
What would Ben do? Jumping off from the pseudonymous letters Ben Franklin fooled his older brother into publishing when he was still a teenager, young literary lovers dive into acting, writing, and addressing a local issue with wit and...
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Writing-Forming Paragraphs
Fifth graders study how to form paragraphs. In this writing lesson, 5th graders discuss why it is important to have paragraphs in their writing. Students also explore the rules writers use to know where to begin a new paragraph and then...
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Writing Paragraphs
Twelfth graders examine the process of writing a paragraph that describes events in chronological order. They listen to a teacher-led discussion, construct a paragraph in pairs, and independently write a paragraph following the process...
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Making Magical Creatures Talk
Invite your young writers to take the reins with writing dialogue. Using two characters of their own creation, kids work with partners and then individually to write short conversations.
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THE GAM SAAN ADVENTURE ARE YOU WILLING TO RISK IT?
Fourth graders study the lasting influence of the Pony Express, Overland Mail Service, Western Union, and the building of the transcontinental railroad, including the contributions of Chinese workers to its construction. They explore the...
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Creating Life Maps (Elementary, Reading/Writing)
Students create a personal life timeline to better explain how a historical timeline is effective in studying history. They also write a poem about themselves.
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Greeting Card to A Character
High schoolers create a greeting card from one character to another after finishing a novel. Individually, they use their imagination to write the paragraph using the text to support their ideas. They share their greeting card with the...
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Writing Paragraphs: Paragraphs which describe events in chronological order
Students explain the structure of a paragraph which describes chronological events. They demonstrate this by construction in writing of a paragraph.
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Writing Persuasive Paragraphs
Fourth graders discover a fun-filled way to write persuasive paragraphs. After reading stories about mice and weasels, they choose which animal to be their topic. Students use a web outline to organize their opinion, four supporting...
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My Favorite Things
Fifth graders write a five paragraph informational essay about their favorite things. They correctly use a colon in listing items. Students analyze paragraph writing through questioning. They indent paragraphs, use a colon before a...
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Civil War Essay
Upper graders explore equality by writing an essay. They read the story Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco, and discuss the meaning of the story and its relevance to Civil War events. Learners investigate the five writing process steps and...
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Introducing Grammar: Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation
Focusing on correct grammar usasge as well as the concept of language evolution, this conventions lesson prompts middle and high schoolers to examine the structure of sentences and word classes (parts of speech). Use the three activites...
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No Title
Fourth graders identify the characteristics of a good paragraph and find those characteristics in a good paragraph from the books, "One Day in the Woods," by Jean Craighead George and "Why Do Leaves Change Color," by Betsy Maestro.
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Conventions-Interjections
Fifth graders discuss interjections reviewing them to be words or phrases that express excitement or strong emotion. In this language arts instructional activity, 5th graders understand that commas or exclamation marks are used to...
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Vivid Adjectives
Students review adjectives and play a game where students compete to see who can write the most adjectives for a given noun. They write a story about one topic and try to use a variety of adjectives in sequence tto describe a noun.
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Fourth graders research and write an author report on Roald Dahl, including books written by him, birthplace, family life, and other information on his writing. Students read aloud chapters in the book. Students create a newspaper...
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Writing: A Friendly Letter
Students practice writing career oriented letters and filling out job applications. As a class, they review the proper ways to make citations and identify the difference between the various types of letter formats. They use peer editing...
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Lesson 4:Writing a Letter
Students write business letters and emails. In this letter activity, students use the seven-day road trip they had planned in a previous activity and contact the Chambers of Commerce for the cities they plan to visit. They write business...
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The Class Garden Essay
Fifth graders use a class garden as inspiration for a specific writing assignment. They conduct research into different types of flowers in photo images taken with a digital camera. Students write a creative essay and draw a picture to...
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Creating a Bibliography
Third graders review the basic structure of a bilbliography and its importance in writing. They create a bibliography of materials used to complete a written report, and power point slide show and use the computer lab to create a final...
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About The Author
Fourth graders practice using basic word processing skills to create a document that includes graphics. The teacher uses a LCD projector to provide support during the lesson. They practice using Word Art to create their own graphics that...
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Sweet Story
Students are told that there are some interesting candy bar names. They are told that they are going to create a story using the names of at least 5 candy bars as people, places, things, events, and etc. Students are told that when...
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Community Brochures
Second graders research facets of their community in order to create an informational brochure. After brainstorming ideas of what could be included in the brochure, student groups get information from the internet, the library or a...
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Family Cookbook
Second graders, in groups, produce a Family Cookbook by bringing recipes from home.