Teacher's Guide
Valentine's Day Acrostic Poem
L is for loving this Valentine's day acrostic poem in which class members use letters from the word love to guide their creative writing. Four different versions for you or your scholars to choose from make this poetry activity a win for...
Crafting Freedom
George Moses Horton: Crafting Virtual Freedom Through Poetry
What is "virtual freedom"? How about "enslaved entrepreneurship"? Class members will learn about these terms and much more as they read the poems and examine the life of George Moses Horton.
Curated OER
Activity 5: Creative Writing/Expression About Child Labor
Students research child labor using Internet resources. They present the information in a creative writing piece and post it on Chalkboard.
Curated OER
Mother's Day Poems and Lesson Plans
Mother's Day poems and other types of activities can get students' creative juices flowing.
Denver Art Museum
Putting Images into Words
Engage your class in art analysis of Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie. Using this work of art as inspiration, writers compose a poem or short story. After a peer review session, the teacher conveys information about the work of art as...
Curated OER
Found Poems
Students summarize articles found in the newspaper and use key concepts to write a poem. In this reading comprehension and writing lesson, students work with a partner to choose a current newspaper article. Key concepts and vocabulary...
Curated OER
Lesson Ideas for Halloween Writing
Halloween writing activities provide a way to make descriptive language a part of a student's literary repertoire.
PBS
Dear Pen Pal
Explore cultures from around the world with an engaging pen pal resource. Through a series of classroom activities and written correspondence, children learn about the favoritec pastimes, schooling, geography, and weather that is...
Curated OER
Remembrance Day Acrostic Poem
In this creative writing worksheet, students write an acrostic poem regarding Remembrance Day using the letters REMEMBRANCE.
Teachnology
Westward Expansion Vocabulary
Here is a nice set of worksheets that your kids can use while studying the fascinating period of Westward Expansion in the United States. Types of worksheets include a vocabulary quiz, acrostic poem handout, reading comprehension, word...
Curated OER
Prairie Activity: Imagist Prairie Poems
Students write an imagist prairie poem. They explore various websites, view images of prairies, read examples of poems, and write an original poem that creates a mental image in the mind of the listener through the use of descriptive...
Curated OER
Pictographic Poetry of Current Events
Students discuss recent currents events as a class. Using one of the events, they write a poem about how they feel about the event in question. They choose specific symbols that relate to event and write a poem about it as well. They...
Curated OER
T-shirts Build School & Community Pride
Students explore ways to promote community pride by creating t-shirts. In this community lesson, students utilize a digital camera to take photographs of their hometown and transfer them to a t-shirt. Students complete a creative...
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...
Curated OER
American Civil Rights Movement, Photo Essay
Young scholars view photographs from the Civil Rights Movement and write an essay from the point of view of someone in the photograph. They artistically represent various aspects of the Movement.
Curated OER
Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing lesson, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used. Students...
Annenberg Foundation
Migrant Struggle
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
Curated OER
The Civil War in Art and Literature
Students examine art related to the Civil War. They participate in activities that allow them to write poetry and drawings. They create their own journal and collect their work in a binder.
Curated OER
Decades
Students work cooperatively to research the people, places, events, and things that represent their assigned decade. They creatively, write and present ten minute dramatizations of information about their assigned decade.
Teaching Tolerance
Community Arts Showcase
An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...
Curated OER
Haiku
Middle schoolers explore the Japanese literature, music and art. Pupils discuss the culture of Japan. While listening to Japanese music, they write and illustrate a Haiku. Students are given the opportunity to create origami.
Curated OER
Concepts of Beauty Put Into Words
Studying haiku poetry with your English class? Delving into Japanese history with your world history class? Here is an authentic and creative way to explore Japanese culture more deeply. Pupils will compare and contrast two tea caddies...
Curated OER
Traditions and Transformations
Learners examine how traditions change over time. In this lesson on Jewish culture, students interview persons of the Jewish faith, write poems, and create murals that exemplify Jewish culture.
PBS
Being Heard
Examine the work of contemporary authors who use their writing to express opinions about the struggle against prejudice and oppression in our society. A short lesson on the Harlem Renaissance introduces learners to the most prominent...