Curated OER
Lesson: Bringing Back the Sun: The Story of Jaguar Inspiring Student Stories
What on earth is that jar for? It was an ancient incense burner used by the Maya, that was inspired by the myth of the sun god. Young analysts hear the story of the Mayan sun god, analyze the story through the artistry in the jar, and...
Curated OER
Lesson: All in the Family
Who was the Radcliffe family? Young learners find out about the life and times of a family from long ago. They analyze the family portrait, write a story about the family, and then use their story to create thought or word bubbles which...
Scholastic
What Happened Next? (Grades K-4)
Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....
Curated OER
Lesson: While You Were Sleeping....
Imagine you are a bug living on a leaf in the painting, Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase by Maria van Oosterwyck. This is what you'll tell your class as they analyze the lovely image. They list details in the painting, find two insects in...
Curated OER
Lesson: Possible Perspectives
Visual art is the inspiration for a creative writing activity focused on having learners write from different perspectives. They analyze the image Yellow Rain Jacket, picking out details to help their storytelling. They use the details...
Curated OER
Creative Writing Lesson Plan: Combination Creature
Students navigate through an online interactive virtual zoo to create imaginary animals by combining different parts of real animals. They write a short story about their combination creature.
Scholastic
Tell Us a Tale: Teaching Students to Be Storytellers
Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates.
Curated OER
The Rest of the Story
Third graders make predictions about the story "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" based on background knowledge. They read the story, stopping to verify or reject predictions. They write their own opinionated fairytales.
Curated OER
Adventures in Toyland
There are many ways to tell a story; Richard Patterson's three-dimensional painting If serves as the inspiration for some creative storytelling for elementary school writers. They watch a clip from Toy Story (you'll need to bring this),...
Curated OER
Greek Story Vases
There are so many ways to tell a story! Develop visual storytelling skills while facilitating an understanding of Greek art and culture. Learners design Greek style images to tell a story through art. They add their designs to Styrofoam...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Suspense Writing Prompts
"I don't know what to write about!" How often have you heard that lament? Here's a list of 10 prompts that provide a starting place for suspense stories.
Curated OER
Strip-Teasers: A Collaborative Writing activity
Young writers engage in a fun writing activity. They write three different sentences on three strips of paper. Then they get into groups of three, and take a look at all nine sentences that have been written. Their task is to write a...
Curated OER
Creative Writing Story
In this creative writing learning exercise, students consider the stories they are writing as they respond to 6 short answer questions designed to help them shape their stories.
NWT Literacy Council
How to Kit: Readers Theatre
Immerse your class in a good story with an extensive resource featuring reader's theater techniques. The worksheets are designed for both teacher and student, and carefully explain how to organize, write, and perform stories in a...
Curated OER
Lesson: A Spider's Perspective
A fun way to grow a class of creative thinkers, is to add creative projects to your weekly line up. Kids pretend they are small insects or spiders crawling up the side of a huge building. They use vivid imagery, rich detail, and their...
Curated OER
St. Patrick’s Day
Combine math, creative writing, and leprechauns in a fun St. Patrick's Day activity! Using a bag of gold coins and marshmallows, kids write a math story about a leprechaun that includes a multi-step equation to solve.
Curated OER
Writing Mythological Narratives
Young scholars compose a creative writing piece based on a painting of a mythological scene. In this creative writing lesson plan, students write about the scene in the painting and tie in their original stories into tales from the...
Curated OER
"Humor" Afro-American Symphony (Third Movement)
A fun way for young learners to explore music and their personal reaction to it, this worksheet includes a short reading passage about musician William Grant Still, a word scramble, a matching activity and two short writing prompts. Some...
Poetry4kids
Writing Riddles
What's got 60 eyes, 150 fingers, and an endless number of ideas? Your language arts class! Challenge young writers to come up with clever riddles with an online poetry lesson.
Curated OER
Leaf People
Kids create leaf people out of sticks, glue, and leaves. They use their imagination to construct leaf people and then glue them onto construction paper. Tip: Extend this craft by incorporating writing. Have learners write a short story...
Curated OER
Fill a Jar
Sometimes short lesson outlines are enough to give you a great idea. Young writers draw any object inside an image of a jar, that doesn't belong in a jar. They can draw a tree, truck, or dinosaur. Tip: Have kids write a short story...
Music Publishers Association of the United States
I Made It. I Own It. Please Don't Steal It.
Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...
Curated OER
Analyzing Story Elements
Lesson ideas to teach students how to analyze story elements through visual representation.
Curated OER
Integrate Reading and Writing this Valentine's Day
Spend Valentine's Day reading, writing, or creating gifts with your students.