After viewing The Last Roundup, a documentary that examines the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately owned island to a National Park, class members adopt the point of view of Tim Vail, a member of the family that once owned the...

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "What is history but a fable agreed upon?" A series of lessons encourages learners to look beyond the basic fable agreed upon related to events in history and consider multiple accounts of the event....

Work on narrative writing with this lesson, in which middle schoolers analyze the characters from a selected piece of literature and write narrative diary pieces as the character. They work to understand the point of view of the...

In this reading comprehension learning exercise, students read a short passage about using a samovar and write a diary entry about a samovar based upon the reading. Students include how to use a samovar and what it is used for.

Here is a good interdisciplinary project that combines creative and narrative writing with studies of the Holocaust. Your young historians will compose a diary of experiences from the perspective of an individual living during the time...

What makes a good leader? Use the curriculum guide for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to help scholars answer that question. Pupils research the play's historical context and other background information before engaging in...

Put your class in the shoes of someone - or something - else with this lesson, which encourages writers to keep a diary from the perspective of a living creature or an abstraction. Use Doreen Cronin's Diary of a Worm and the Six Trait...

Students better explain a character after examining their traits as well as trying to write a diary entry from their perspective.

As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...

In this Galapagos Islands instructional activity, students research all they can about the islands and then create a diary entry that shows how an early explorer would have felt upon approaching the island.

As part of their reading of Michael Morpurgo's novel Kensuke's Kingdom, young castaways create diary entries describing their own time left alone on an island.

Students analyze a piece of writing by creating diary entries based on a character.  For this reading comprehension lesson, students read an assigned book with their classmates and create a sketch of what they believe the main...

Students categorize information into a problem/solving chart and examine the value of using a diary. In this problem solving and diary lesson, students read portions of Dear Mr. Henshaw, while they investigate the importance of keeping a...

Fourth graders write a diary entry. In this journaling instructional activity students examine a 1880's primary source document. Students read about a young girl visiting her Aunt in rural Indiana. Students write about what they did in...

Students create a diary of an animal. For this creative writing lesson, students read the book Diary of a Worm and conduct a brief research session on their animal. Students fill in a template with facts and create an animal diary.

Much like the methods of group work, the writers of the Federalist Papers worked together to advocate for their viewpoints against the anti-federalists. The resource enables learners to break into small groups and conduct research before...

A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...

Keeping a journal can be one of the most enjoyable writing tasks that children engage in. They get to write about what they want to write about - not what the teacher tells them to write about! Here, young writers pretend they are a...

King Henry was a very busy man, he had to sign documents and go hunting. Kids are presented with three slides and asked to choose the activities they think Henry engaged in each day. They then read to discover what Henry actually did...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...

"You are pigs." With those three simple words, the lives of the Piggott family were changed forever. Read aloud the children's story Piggybook by Anthony Browne and teach your class the importance of personal responsibility,...

Young journalists write diary entries from the point of view of a person involved in a historical event. They focus on including facts, clear narration, and accurate description of the individual's feelings. 

Students examine descriptive writing. In this writing lesson, students listen to an audio version of the diary of Lt. Polly Hatchard and her expedition to the South Pole. Students explore the components of descriptive writing and...

In this narrative worksheet, students compose a diary entry that includes different facets of writing. Students then respond to different narratives in the class by answering 11 different questions.