Curated OER
Write Your Own Cultural Connections
Learners write a cultural narrative. In this multicultural writing lesson, students create an expository narrative to teach others about their lives. Learners complete the narrative and use a buddy editing strategy to revise their papers.
Curated OER
Nudging Questions
Students choose one topic to write about. They brainstorm ideas about their topic or incident. They use sensory details to visualize their topic. They answer a variety of teacher directored nudging question to help them describe their...
Curated OER
What Kind of Vessel Are You?
This is a strange question; but what kind of vessel would you be and why? After examining images of a large Inca jug, the class sets to writing a creative narrative that answers that very interesting question. They start by researching...
Curated OER
Digital Storytelling
Scholars of all ages can use the various tools of technology to construct and illustrate a story. Utilizing this resource, learners work with a partner to brainstorm and draft a story based on personal experience. They use computer...
Curated OER
Publishing: A Persuasive Essay
Third graders are given an opportunity to create a visual to accompany their presentations of their persuasive essays. They may use the computer or other media as resources.
Blake Education
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The motto for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry warns that one should never tickle a sleeping dragon, but learners will definitely be tickled by the activities in a packet of materials designed to accompany a reading of the...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 18: Art Project! Design Your Own Book Cover
Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...
Curated OER
Picture the Process!
Young scholars read "Chasing Vermeer," and then study the author's writing process. They make connections between the book and the author's real life experiences. They then write an original mystery story, following the writing process.
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: Collision
This writing prompt provides students with the introductory paragraph to a creative story about a sledding accident. Students can use the provided prompt, or they can choose to begin a similar story with their own ideas. They are also...
Curated OER
Picture Prompts: Arctic Hares
Prompted by a picture of two white arctic hares, students complete the story based on their own creative ideas. This writing template could couple with a winter unit, an animal unit, or even as simple writing practice. A text box allows...
Curated OER
A Whale of a Tale
Students read "A Very Hungry Caterpillar" and discuss factual information in the book. They research whales and use information to write a narrative story. They take their stories through the writing process.
Curated OER
Chronology: Visual Timeline
Students begin their timelines with the first narrative that they read and add to the timeline as they go. They create a list of history topics and themes that are important to the story. Students add these as sub-headings to the...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
6 Traits: Voice
Learners explore the trait of voice. In this language arts lesson, students focus on the writing trait of voice. Learners view a video and practice writing.
Curated OER
Explain Your Vote!
Students improve their essay writing skills using the subject of voting as a topic. In this writing essays lesson, students write expository essays to increase the weight of their vote in the 'Cast Your Vote Poll' for the Trans-Amazon...
Curated OER
A Photo Essay
Students create a photo essay and present it to the class. The students bring photos to use for their essay and develop a story using the photos. The students write captions including characters, setting, and plot for each photo. They...
Curated OER
Writing Own Tale
Third graders read The First Strawberries and complete a character chart. In this writing a tale lesson, 3rd graders discuss viewpoints and identify character traits. Students complete character charts and write their own tale about how...
Curated OER
Narrative Literature Response Letters
Third graders write endings to a story that has already been written. They offer alternative endings in their version. The instructional activity includes a rubric that is to be given to the students in order that they know the...
Curated OER
What Makes a Fable?
Third graders explore fables. In this fables lesson, 3rd graders use Venn Diagrams to organize information about 2 fables they will read. Students work in groups to fill out the diagrams and share their results with the class. Students...
Syracuse City School District
Summary of Fiction and Non-Fiction Text
Somebody Wanted But So Then (SWBST)? Yes! Here's a great strategy for teaching young readers how to summarize narrative text. In addition, the packet includes exercises that show kids how to summarize nonfiction text using the classic...
Curated OER
Controlled Narrative Writing
Students examine a short story and add possible adjectives. They re-read the story and add adverbs. They also add other information to make the story interesting.
Curated OER
Describing Paintings: Calm or Stormy
Young writers use nouns, verbs, and adjectives to describe details in two paintings. One depicts a sunny landscape, and the other shows a cloudier view. They write a narrative inspired by the paintings, paying attention to transitional...
New Jersey Historical Commission and New Jersey Council for the Humanities
Thomas Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park
What would change in your daily life due to a power outage? Here, learners explore the inventions brought to us by the one and only, Thomas Edison, and imagine a day without them. Scholars take part in a grand conversation and write a...
Curated OER
Class Mascot
Students create their own tales to tell using a class mascot and their imaginations for inspiration. They each take turns bringing home the mascot and a notebook. In the notebook, they write their own tale about an adventure the mascot had.
Curated OER
The Important Things About Nouns
Students create pages to be published into a eBook. Students read a story and identify nouns and attributes that describe the noun. Using a creative writing process, students write paragraphs and combine them for their eBook. Students...