Young writers complete a unit of activities to learn and use writing strategies. They will complete 8 activities to prewrite, use descriptive words, asking and telling sentences, and correct spelling within their writing. Then they watch...

Get to know your learners on a deeper level or invite them to step into someone else's shoes by introducing them to a bio poem. With this type of poetry, scholars will answer questions such as self-description, hopes for the future, and...

Students demonstrate the concept of friendship. In this character education lesson, students read the book Best Friends and discuss what friendship means. Students create a picture book about their likes and dislikes.

Students create survey questions for their classmates. In this survey lesson, students pick a yes or no question and find what fraction of the class responded yes. They discover how the wording of a survey question can affect the...

Discover activities to help learners increase self-awareness, build peer and family relations, and develop positive self-esteem. Here you'll find six suggestions for instilling a sense of confidence and self awareness in youngsters. Each...

Just like you choose your clothes to ensure they fit the occasion, you should choose your words deliberately while writing. Style, the main topic of one handout in a series on writing skills, involves choosing words carefully and paying...

How do you create (and punctuate) really good dialogue so that it moves your story forward and provides strong characterization? Use this literary worksheet loaded with examples, clearly stated directions, and fun exercises.  Fifth...

Have a go at this exercise in thinking by asking thinkers to think about thinking, of what they think of, and what they think about. The worksheets in the packet provide much food for thought.

There's no better way to learn something than to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. A handout on oral history, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, explains how to conduct interviews and use the information...

Problem solve using exponents. Pupils read One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale and write powers to represent amounts from the story.They compare actual solutions to their predictions and play a game to practice using...

Students practice biographical and autobiographical forms of writing: autobiography, biopoem, character traits, classmate biography.

Pupils develop letter writing fluency. In this letter writing activity, students write alphabet letters. Pupils work individually to develop letter writing automaticity.

In this journal writing activity, students are given four headlines for news stories published in tabloid newspapers. Students write the story that might have matched one of the headlines.

Model for young writers how to create pictures in the minds of readers with a series of slides that demonstrate how sensory appeals enliven writing. The presentation includes opportunities for viewers to practice showing writing.

Who says you need a human to be your valentine on Valentine's Day? Give your dog-loving readers an inspiring perspective on how a sister givdes her brother a valentine from the family dog. They then answer 10 questions thatd involve...

How do you help a child with dyslexia succeed as a writer? Here is a resource for those who need guidance in creating writing lessons for their students with dyslexia. It discusses research-based strategies that can be used and...

Find the best way to appeal to the kids in your class with a positive reinforcement survey. Using forced choices, they decide which of two options would be better for them, based on adult approval, peer approval, independent rewards,...

Use drawings as inspiration. Have learners doodle for 10 minutes before beginning the lesson. Then, have them use their doodles to inspire a story. Several writing activities are included here to play with writing. One of my favorites...

If you were stranded on a desert island, what items would be the most important to have with you? Decide whether you'd want a five gallon can of water, a radio, shark repellent, or any other item with an activity designed to prepare kids...

How hard can it be to measure out two pounds? A short performance task introduces a situation where a balance scale is broken. It gives a method for measuring out two pounds and asks learners to evaluate the procedure. They must prove...

Discover that Kenyan children aren't much different from your young scholars as they read Kelly Cunnane's story For You are a Kenyan Child. This story is an excellent resource for vocabulary in context, and introduces new words...

Just like your budding readers may have felt, Froggy is nervous on his first day of school. Use Johnathan London's book Froggy Goes to School to practice vocabulary in context. Prior to reading the story aloud, pre-teach the new words...

Three activities stem from one hands-on project designed to explore character traits. Scholars create an action figure that reflects their personality to teach others about themselves and role play conversational skills.