MENSA Education & Research Foundation
The Writer’s Toolbox: What You Need to Master the Craft
Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...
Poetry4kids
How to Host an Open Mic Poetry Party
Four steps to Open Mic Night! The location, invitations, supplies, and party favors are all part of the process in planning and hosting a fun-filled gathering where scholars read aloud an original poem or one by their favorite author.
Curated OER
Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...
Polk Bros Foundation
Show, Then Write What You Learn
After reading a text or covering a new topic, have class members fill out the four boxes on this page with facts. Individuals can use words or drawings to represent the facts.
Curated OER
Write On! Step by Step Paragraph and Report Writing
Students plan and write paragraphs while integrating other core subject areas. In this paragraph writing lesson, students complete 5 lessons to practice writing paragraphs. Students incorporate various core subjects into their paragraph...
Curated OER
Color Code Writing
Students practice color coding in their writing. In this writing instructional activity, students work on a new technique to help with them with their formation of letters and numbers.
Curated OER
Enhancing Writing Through Technology
Students participate in a class survey of their favorite activity to do in the snow and organize the results in a graph. They write a paragraph about the graph using language from a class-developed word web and include both an opening...
Curated OER
Summertime Travel
Third graders write about a summer event they participated in. In this paragraph writing instructional activity, the teacher models how to write about a place they have visited. Students then write their own paragraphs. Students will...
Curated OER
Color Code Writing
Students form letters and numbers using a technique called color code writing.
Curated OER
Transforming Negatives to Positives
Students write diamonte poems that correspond to the double-exposed photograph they created. In this poetry and multimedia artwork lesson, students use the photographic process to create a double-exposed photo then create a diamonte...
Curated OER
Madagascar-Simply Summarized
Young scholars summarize a selected piece of text nonfiction text. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a nonfiction article. They write a summary paragraph using the four step process outlined by the...
Curated OER
Have a Backone
Students create a visual organizer that describes different groups of vertebrates in this pre-writing activity. They view and discuss a video on descriptive writing and then form small groups to research vertebrate classes using the...
Curated OER
Buzz Up My Hive
Students research bees. In this organisms lesson, students participate in various learning centers to find out more about bees. The centers include watching a video and taking notes, reading books about bees, and going on a WebQuest. As...
Curated OER
Ocean Expedition with Jacques Cousteau
Students role play that they are on an ocean voyage with Jacques Cousteau as they study plant, and animal species and adaptation. They write a five page journal, create artwork of the expedition.
Curated OER
Funky Illuminated Fairy Tales
Young scholars create their own fairy tale. In this book making lesson, students write a fairy tale and turn it into a book. They use decorated initials and borders to make it look like an illuminated manuscript.
Curated OER
Carrot Seed Lesson Plan
Students create a seed museum. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify various seeds and the plants the seeds will grow into. Students write a description of the plant, illustrate the plant and create a seed museum in...
Curated OER
My Autobiography
Students write their own autobiography. They fill out a worksheet to help them organize their personal information. They create their own website displaying their information and share with the class.
Curated OER
Cinderella Stories
Students explore their creative writing skills. For this Cinderella writing lesson, students compare perspective as they read and discuss 2 versions of the "Three Little Pigs." Students then watch "Cinderella" and use their creative...
Curated OER
Summarizing the Good Stuff
Students summarize a selected piece of text nonfiction text. After reviewing the correct way to read silently, students read a nonfiction article. Working in groups, they write a summary paragraph using the five step process outlined by...
Curated OER
It's Your Opinion
Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...
Curated OER
A Twist On Teaching Affixes
Engaging your class in prefix and suffix instruction with these helpful ideas.
Curated OER
Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know. In this Monarch Butterfly lesson,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly. Students gather...
Curated OER
Lesson Exchange: Monster interviews (Elementary, Language)
Learners learn interviewing and proofreading skills, as well as 1st and 2nd person pronouns.
Curated OER
Funky Illuminated Fairy Tales
Pupils create a nameplate and an original fairy tale book using an illuminated manuscript format. They create a personal nameplate using a decorated or historiated initial, a border, and illuminations.