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Monster Voices
Students create stories based upon the techniques of author Maurice Sendak in Where the Wild Things Are. They use a word processing program and the Apple software program GarageBand to create new voices for the story. This lesson is...
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Dream Bed
Students design and write descriptions of imaginary beds. In this interior design activity, students use various art materials such as paint, fabric, boxes, and string to create a model of a bed. Students use descriptive words to write a...
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Phonics: Comb
In this handwriting worksheet, students sound out the word comb utilizing phonic techniques, write the word comb four times on the lines provided and color the picture of a comb.
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Making a Memoir Lesson Memorable
Memoir lessons can give students a format for writing about their experiences, and a way to tap into their inner author.
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Thankful List
Students practice using free association as a pre-writing technique as they list things that they are thankful for. They share the lists of words and apply them when they write a descriptive essay or poem after identifying commonalities...
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Sketchy Business
Students identify and describe characteristics of contemporary artwork. Then, they create gesture drawings, a drawing technique used to express the action of a subject in a short period of time.
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Making a Non-Fiction Big Book
Writing a non-fiction big book can help students learn about research techniques, note taking, and other skills.
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Memories of School Days
Students interview, record, and retell school stories of a family member. They research, document, and describe how schools have changed over time.
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Creating a Story that "Stacks" on Itself and Repeats a Catch Phrase
Students explore language arts by reading a classic children's story in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the Judith Viorst book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Students discuss the...
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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.
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Water Wonders
Students explore hydrology concepts. For this environment and biology lesson, students identify and describe macroinvertebrates using a variety of pictures and resources. Students observe and write about a classroom aquarium in which...
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Honing in on Hummingbirds
Students explore ruby-throated hummingbirds. For this cross-curricular hummingbirds lesson, students listen to the book The Mystery of the Missing Hummingbirds and choose related topics to research with a partner. Students draw or write...
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Visual Arts: Art in Public Places
Students create 3 dimensional art. In this sculpture lesson, students collect objects that represent their community's values to include in a 3 dimensional sculpture. Students write a paragraph explaining the chosen theme of their...
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Valerie Bloom Poetry
Students listen to Granny Is, a poem by Valerie Bloom and discuss the metaphors in the poem. In this poetry lesson, students read poetry written by Valerie Bloom and discuss the techniques she uses. Students write grandmother poems.
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Lilting Limericks
Students discover the formula for writing limericks and use it to write their own poems.
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Literary Devices Paper
Fourth graders write a character analysis of someone they know describing them through similes, metaphors, and hyperboles. They may include themselves and how their person relates to him or her.
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Forests/Natural Resource Management II
Students write about the importance of trees. For this natural resources lesson, students look at deforestation occurring across the globe and present what they learned to the class. As closure, all students write a poem about the...
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It Wasn't a Bullet
Students explore U.S. history by researching disease in class. In this Civil War injury instructional activity, students identify the different causes of death most soldiers faced while fighting in the war. Students role-play and write a...
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Sparking a Revolution!
Students investigate the causes and events that lead to the US Revolutionary War. They use a number of study techniques in this unit to discuss why the colonies wanted freedom from Britain.
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Autograph Story
Students write narrative essays about getting a famous person's autograph (a classmate) and then combine their work with pictures to enhance the stories. This technique can be used with any writing project.
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The Great Spider Debate
Students study about the survival and hunting strategies of several different kinds of spiders. They also be introduced to scientific classification of spiders and write a brief report about one of the spider families they observe.
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Telling the Stories the Past Tells Us
Learners create historical stories based on factual evidence. In this Telling the Stories the Past Tells Us lesson, students write historical stories using strategies such as characters, plot, setting, and voice. Learners analyze several...
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Turn Students Into News Reporters
All students can learn how to be news reporters using these interesting, and motivating, lesson plans.