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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 5: Geology

For Teachers 4th Standards
Over four weeks, fourth graders participate in a geology-themed unit. Scholars listen to informational texts, discuss readings, and complete word work and grammar lessons. Writing practice includes drafting an informational pamphlet, a...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 1: Memoir - Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

For Teachers 4th Standards
The memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, is the focus of a unit designed for fourth graders. Scholars begin each lesson with a warm-up, then listen to a read-aloud of a section of the book. Pupils complete word work,...
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Unit Plan
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Core Knowledge Foundation

First Grade Skills Unit 4

For Teachers 1st Standards
Twenty-eight lessons make a unit that focuses on skills practice. Lessons explore r-controlled vowels, past tense verbs, nouns, adjectives, and two-syllable words. Pupils read a story, answer questions, and draft a descriptive essay...
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Lesson Plan
Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
You can't read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without craving the rich treats described in Dahl's vivid prose. Young writers try their hands at sensory language with a lesson plan that prompts them to write about their...
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Unit Plan
Roald Dahl

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unit is a golden ticket for teachers looking for nicely written plans. Elementary and middle schoolers draw their impressions of characters, design and market their own candy creations, and use...
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Lesson Plan
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Poetry Society

Simile and Metaphor

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.
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Lesson Plan
Poetry Society

A Conceit Poem

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Young writers needn't be self-involved to craft a conceit. Directions for how to craft this form of extended metaphor, models, and a worksheet are all included in the packet.
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Organizer
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Scholastic

Super Sentences & Perfect Paragraphs

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
An extensive collection of lessons and activities includes many writing, grammar, and proofreading exercises. With templates and worksheets that cover several steps in the writing process, from sentence to paragraph to essay, this...
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Organizer
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McGraw Hill

Phonics Teachers Resource Book

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Looking to improve your classes literacy program? Then look no further. This comprehensive collection of resources includes worksheets and activities covering everything from r-controlled vowels and consonant digraphs, to the different...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Sweet and Savory Writing: Descriptive Writing

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
The engagement is in the details. Young scholars learn the benefit of weaving descriptive and sensory details into the fabric of their writing through the activities in this lesson. As their hands explore items concealed in bags, a...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Nose Like a Cherry: Understanding Similes and Metaphors

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Clement Moore's "Twas the Night Before Christmas" models the power of descriptive language for middle schoolers. They identify the similes and metaphors in the tale and consider what these descriptions add to the story's emotional...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Introduction to Expository Writing

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
Move beyond the five-paragraph essay with a instructional activity introducing young writers to various forms of expository writing. Class members examine description, cause and effect, problem solution, sequence, and comparison forms....
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Thanksgiving with Richard Blanco's "América"

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Traditions, like the times, are a-changin'. Middle schoolers conduct a close reading of Richard Blanco's poem "América" and consider how Blanco's family approached his suggestions for adopting a new approach to their Thanksgiving meal.
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Million Dollar Question: Informative Writing

For Teachers 9th Standards
Introduce high school freshmen to the characteristics of informative writing with a 5-day lesson that distinguishes informative writing from other modes. Scholars learn how to search for and cite reliable resources, then research and...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Texture Poetry: The Great Gatsby and the Sense of Touch

For Teachers 10th - 11th Standards
To prepare for crafting a descriptive poem about a character in F. Scot Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, groups describe the texture of objects hidden in small bags. Individuals then select a character from the novel and an object...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Who Am I? Creating And Editing Descriptive Writing

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
With descriptive writing, the pleasure is in the details. Young writers learn how to add sensory details to a paragraph about themselves. They read a short paragraph and identify the sensory details used. After revising their draft...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Who's Coming To Dinner? Descriptive Writing

For Teachers 8th Standards
"The Dinner Party" is the anchor text in a lesson designed to encourage writers to use sensory details in their stories. After brainstorming descriptive words and phrases for the five senses, class members read Mona Gardner's stark tale...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Your Best Of/Worst Of Anything: Writing To Engage And Entertain

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
It was the best of places! It was the worst of places! Middle schoolers practice their descriptive writing skills by creating an e-book about the best of/worst of topics. A series of activities about descriptive writing and worksheets...
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Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

On "El Florida Room" by Richard Blanco

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Scholars of all ages examine Richard Blanco's poem, "El Florida Room." Looking closely at pictures, pupils look for details that stand out to them, then read the poem. A whole-class discussion allows learners to reflect on what they...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Brushstrokes: Communication/Using Descriptive Language

For Teachers 7th - 11th Standards
Sometimes a picture reflects a thousand descriptive words. To illustrate the importance of sensory words in descriptive writing, scholars listen to a song and craft a painting in response. After sharing their work with the class,...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

A Write At The Museum: Ekphrastic Poetry

For Teachers 9th Standards
Which came first—the painting or the poem? In this case, it is the painting. Scholars closely examine a work of art and then craft an ekphrastic poem in response. A carefully scaffolded nine-page plan leads young poets through the process.
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Writing Free Verse in the "Voice" of Cesar Chavez

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Introduce middle schoolers to free verse poetry with a lesson that has young poets read two free verse poems and list the common characteristics of the form. They then read a passage from Cesar Chavez's biography and a free verse poem...
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Lesson Plan
Beyond Benign

Intended Occupants

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Here's a lesson plan you can really build on! Middle schoolers describe the occupants of an imaginary house during a character-building lesson plan. They create a cast of characters who share living space and provide details about their...
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Unit Plan
Simon & Schuster

Curriculum Guide to: The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed
Joseph Conrad's novellas The Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer are the focus of five lessons in this Curriculum Guide. Lessons are designed to advance analytical reading skills, examine Conrad's use of "The Double" theme, the...