Curated OER
Strong Descriptive Writing: James and the Giant Peach
Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...
Poetry4kids
Onomatopoeia Poetry Lesson Plan
Two exercises boost scholars' knowledge of a onomatopoeia with excerpts from famous poems. In exercise one, participants circle onomatopoeia words. Exercise two challenges writers to choose three words to use in an original poem.
Curated OER
Mannerly Writing
Writers draft paragraphs comparing and contrasting the author's viewpoint in two poems. They also discuss the differences between an informational text and a poem regarding manners. Rubric and assessment are provided.
Curated OER
The Rooms in a Home
Enhance your foreign language students' skills to describe a house. After reading a description of rooms in a house in their target language, they work to answer corresponding questions correctly. Additionally, they view a PowerPoint...
New York City Department of Education
Theater Units for Lower and Upper Elementary Levels
Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons, assessment...
K12 Reader
Describe It with Adjectives
Put children's descriptive writing skills to the test with these fun collaborative writing activities. Presented with the picture of an object, young writers are are tasked with creating a description that provides enough detail for one...
Poetry4kids
Creativity Exercise - Describe the Sky
Scholars stretch their writing muscles with an exercise that asks them to describe the sky using similes and metaphors.
Curated OER
Scent-Inspired Composition
Our sense of smell has a wonderful way of bringing back memories. Unlock those memories with an olfactory-inspired writing prompt that challenges writers to tell a story about a specific smell and the memories it conjures.
Poetry4kids
Simile and Metaphor Lesson Plan
Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five similes and...
Poetry4kids
Personification Poetry Lesson Plan
Scholars take part in two exercises to boost their knowledge of personification. After reading a detailed description and excerpts from famous poems, writers list action verbs and objects then combine words to create a humorous...
Curated OER
Sequencing
Are you looking for a way to teach sequence of events in your narrative writing unit? Bring this lesson to your middle school class, as it prompts young writers to create a narrative sequence map of events that have happened at school...
ReadWriteThink
Literature Circles: Getting Started
Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...
Curated OER
Using Commas for Clear Writing
In this commas worksheet, students learn to use commas to help write more clearly. Students complete three exercises with commas.
Curated OER
Magical Creatures Land
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
Curated OER
Reading a Dialect
Reading a dialect can be difficult; show readers that it can also reveal fascinating details! They read two extracts from Jane Gardam's The Hollow Land, which is written in a British dialect. Readers answer comprehension questions,...
Curated OER
Adjectives and Descriptive Phrases
Students examine the use of adjectives and descriptive phrases to improve their written pieces. In this adjectives and descriptive phrases lesson, students look at demonstrative adjectives, common adjectives, and proper adjectives. They...
Brockman Elementary School
Living History Timeline
As part of a living history research project, learners research a chosen historical figure that they will study and physically represent in a gallery walk. This resource includes a project description, letter to parents, rubric, and...
Curated OER
Writing with Vivid Verbs
Students find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Students then practice rewriting sentences using vivid...
Channel Islands Film
Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 1
Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...
Curated OER
Writing Original Adventures About Imaginary Sidekicks
Students explore storytelling by conceptualizing a story with classmates. For this publishing lesson, students identify the idea development process and discuss word choice when writing a story. Students utilize a graphic organizer to...
Curated OER
Literacy Through Photography
Students practice using words to describe photographs they have taken. In this descriptive writing instructional activity, students utilize a disposable or digital camera to take 5 pictures of their life after school. Students create...
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...
Curated OER
Parts of Speech
Fifth graders examine the use of parts of speech. In this parts of speech lesson, 5th graders review the parts of speech in a teacher led activity that uses a song (not included). They color code the give parts of speech on a worksheet...
Curated OER
Adjectives and Adverbs in Sentences
In these adjectives and adverbs worksheets, students complete three pages of activities that help them use adjective and adverbs in a clear and vivid way.