Curated OER
A Hurricane Blowing In
Students write a scene. In this creative writing activity, students read The Lightning Thief and discuss the sentence fluency and word choice in the writing. Students complete a writing assignment where they create an...
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Writing About Talking
The story of King Arthur is a fascinating one, and this retold excerpt offers an excellent example of narrative word choice in a dialogue. Learners read the text and examine the way the author uses synonyms for said. They write down...
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Zooming into Fluency
Students read and reread decodable words in connected text. In this language arts lesson, students focus on improving their fluency to help them gain more meaning from the text. The story focused on is Arthur's Loose Tooth.
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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...
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Fast Fact-Finding
Ever wonder why the sky changes color so often? Readers examine an informational excerpt from John Farndon's How the Earth Works. They underline key points as they read and then answer five response questions. Prompts review main...
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The Sound of…Poetry!
Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing lesson. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound words and then...
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Speedy Gonzales on the Race Track
Students improve their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding and rereading strategies, students complete a timed assessment of their words read per minute. Their words per minute are recorded...
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Speed Reader
First graders work with a piece of text to become more fluent in reading. This lesson helps children practice how to read faster. They work on reading fluency through repeated readings under pressure. In turn, more words read per...
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Go Speed Racer!
Pupils increase their reading fluency through one-minute drills. Working in pairs, students read a grade level appropriate text in one-minute intervals. After reading they determine their speed through a word count. Pupils complete...
We are Teachers
The Six Traits in Plain Language
If your rockin' writers use Six-Trait Writing, you'll definitely want to include these displays around your classroom throughout the year. Each trait (e.g. voice, word choice, organization, ideas, sentence fluency, conventions) is...
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BECOME A LOGOPHILE
It's time to write! First, lead your emerging writers in a power writing activity. It takes six minutes and focuses on creative brainstorming. The class is given two words (duck and apple are suggested, but alter the words for different...
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Rewriting Alexander's Day
Students experiment with word choice and sentence fluency to revise Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.
Smekens Education Solutions, Inc.
Introducing the 6 Traits to Students
Put together an English language arts unit on the six traits of writing with this helpful collection of resources. From fun songs to differentiated writing exercises reinforcing each of the traits, great ideas are provided for...
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The Six Traits of Writing
Targeted toward parents, the slides included here could be adapted for classroom use or shown at Back-to-School Night. The focus of the presentation is Six Trait Writing: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and...
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Writing and Presenting a Fable Using Research
Elementary and middle schoolers research animal facts and use them in a fable. First, they pair-share to find animal traits to use in writing a fable. They then complete a prewriting worksheet. After going through the writing process,...
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Ain't Gonna Rain No More
In this creative writing lesson, pupils listen to the song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More", read the book adaptation titled I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!, and pay close attention to the rhyming scheme, punctuation and illustrations. ...
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Quick Writes
Students write on a variety of topics, maximize creative and expository writing skills, develop focused writing, organize ideas, incorporate detail in writing, and exhibit varied and precise word choice.
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Women Call Out: The Personal Narrative
After reading and discussing several personal narratives written by women in the 1920's, class members write a personal narrative of their own about a time in their lives they felt controlled. Sample narratives can be accessed through...
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Narrative Prompt
Students write to describe a summer activity. They read a book about the seasons. They describe grab bag props and how they are used in summer.
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Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
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Mercer Mayer-Just Me and My ...books
Students read various Mercer Mayer books. They discuss the enhancement of family and relationships within the family. Students write a book with their peers about their relationship with a member of their family. They practice their...
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Eudora Welty Internet Scavenger Hunt
Students use the Internet as a research tool. they read, comprehend, identify, evaluate, and select the correct answers to contextual questions.They write a rough draft, edit/revise, and a final draft summarizing the information located.
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Other Faces of Discrimination
High schoolers explore the bullying experienced by those who graduated from one-room school houses to large high schools. In this discrimination lesson, students read the 2 provided handouts on the topic and then complete the included...
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Color, Play, Podcast
Students encounter the format of a podcast and plan what content they will include. They work in small groups or with the whole class to develop an outline. Students practice reading their scripts to other students.