YAM Contest and Writing Stories about the "Wild West"

If your writing classroom was the Wild West, what phrases would be "outlawed"? Here is one poster that every writing instructor, and really, any teacher of communication, should have in their classroom!

Bring social studies to life! This interdisciplinary instructional activity has young writers tell the story of the migration of diverse groups of people to the United States. Pupils view the work of selected choreographers and discuss...

If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing narratives...

Looking for suggestions on how to organize a creating writing workshop? For topic suggestions appropriate for various grade levels? Check out a resource packet, designed for English language arts instructors, that is packed with ideas...

Take a look at the role of education in Jack London's life, and in your pupils' lives. Class members listen to the audio guide for Jack London's The Call of the Wild, which includes biographical information, and read information about...

Identify story elements with your middle schoolers. Readers will identify the setting, main characters, plot, exposition, and conflict, but best of all, they'll explain how they know each of these story elements. 

What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...

There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...

Instead of simply adding character traits to a list, or scrapping traits when new information is provided, challenge class members to revise their thinking and determine how a character changes over the course of a story. The video...

Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...