Curated OER
A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories
Pupils read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...
Curated OER
Paragraph Writing
Third graders write paragraphs. In this paragraph lesson, 3rd graders discover the parts of a paragraph as they are compared to the pieces of a sandwich. They write their own paragraph to a foreign pen-pal describing our country.
Curated OER
Persuasive Advertisement For A Novel
Sixth graders engage in a project to persuade classmates to read a certain novel. They create a poster using persuasive advertising language. Media can be included in the form of pictures and other graphics to make the visual...
Curated OER
Expository Writing
Students write a short essay. In this essay writing lesson, students select from a tiered assignment a topic in which to compose an expository essay.
Curated OER
The Writing Process
Show your young researchers how to find information, brainstorm a topic, map or outline their own stories, and create rough drafts. This lesson also shows learners how to peer edit, conference with the teacher, and write their final...
Curated OER
The Shape of Things
Fourth graders develop their writing skills. For this paragraph structure lesson, 4th graders research natural disasters, compile their findings, create mobiles and write stories based on the mobiles.
Curated OER
Modernism in Poetry, Painting, and Music
Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...
Novelinks
The Cay: Biopoem
Theodore Taylor's The Cay provides the text for an assignment that asks each reader to craft a biopoem for one of the characters.
Museum of Tolerance
Creating an Ideal World
To conclude a study of social justice and tolerance designed to prepare classes for a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, class members brainstorm a safe and peaceful world. They then write about their own vision of this world.
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...
Museum of Tolerance
And Justice for All? Slavery Not Just in the Past
Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...
California Education Partners
Follow the Water by Arthur Dorros
Assess scholars' reading and writing capabilities with an exam that challenges learners to respond to an informative text. Through note-taking and peer discussion, pupils analyze a passage from the story, Follow the Water from Brook to...
Virginia Department of Education
Maintaining Organization, Clarity, Central Idea, and Unity
Introduce and challenge the essay organization skills of your junior high writers with the paper reconstruction activity in this demonstration. Theydetermine what the word organization means, and discover the basic organizational...
Unified School District of De Pere
Reader Response Journals
Writing about and in response to what you read can help you process the text and lead to stronger analysis. Included here are four larger topics that students can write about, sentence starters to help pupils get started with their...
California Education Partners
My Five Senses by Aliki
An assessment designed to examine scholars' reading comprehension skills takes place over three days. Starting with a read-aloud of My Five Senses by Aliki, learners then take notes and discuss their most memorable moments with...
Judicial Branch of California
Articles of Confederation…Well, They Were Trying!
Different currencies, multiple armies, unreliable protection from thieves: class members experience these challenges playing a game that demonstrates life under the Articles of Confederation. After playing the game—which takes them on a...
University of Wisconsin
BEAM: Background, Exhibit, Argument, Method
Thinking of assigning a research paper? Get writers off on the right foot with a lesson that introduces the BEAM research model. Writers brainstorm the background of their topic, explicate the aspects of their topic, consider the...
Anti-Defamation League
10 Ideas for Teaching Black History Month
Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...
Glacier Peak High School
Huckleberry Finn Theme Project Ideas
Looking for a project list to conclude a study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? The six suggestions included in the menu (a song, thematic box, CD case, book jacket, blog, scene) could be assigned to individuals or groups....
Curated OER
Exercise for Writing a Summary Paragraph
Students examine how to write article summaries of abstracts. In this writing skills instructional activity, students edit the noted sections of an abstract that is already written on the Old Testament Abstracts.
Curated OER
Introduction To Composition And Elements Of Design
Learners create a finished drawing with a dynamic, asymmetrical composition. Pencil sketches are encouraged for final projects. Students assess their own work prior to submitting the artwork.
Curated OER
Responding to a Writing Prompt
Fourth graders explore the writing and proofreading process. They practice responding to a writing prompt. Students write three paragraphs about the given prompt and proofread their work.
Curated OER
From Ordinary To Extraordinary Writing
Students investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of descriptive...
Curated OER
Listening To A Fanfare
In this music activity, middle schoolers read the biography of a composer and then focus upon his primary work of creating graphic compositions.