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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ready, Aim, Focus!

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Use photography as a tool to improve writing skills. Provide pupil pairs with a digital camera and challenge them to capture images of the classroom they find visually striking. Each class member then composes a descriptive piece about...
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Organizer
Practice Using Lively Language

Practice Using Lively Language

For Students 3rd - 6th
Combine a study of biography writing with some tips for spicing up writing. After reading two passages, one much more descriptive than the other, pupils examine what makes one more interesting. They then brainstorm some ideas for writing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Father Knows Best, Write a Father's Day Letter

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars write a Father's Day letter. In this friendly letter writing lesson, students brainstorm a list of parent responsibilities, then write three specific ways their fathers care for them. Young scholars share learning...
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Printables
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Curated OER

"I Can” Common Core! 6th Grade Writing

For Teachers 6th Standards
It is impossible to know whether one has reached a goal without first knowing the goal. Help your sixth graders reach all the Common Core writing standards by giving them a checklist written in language they will understand. As you teach...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Story Ideas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Need some story ideas? Young writers are often at a lost when it comes to selecting an idea for story. Jumpstart the discussion by giving them a list of possible topics.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Descriptive Writing

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Learners write a description of an animal.  In this descriptive writing lesson, students discuss ways to write to appeal to all five senses.  Learners then describe an animal in a paragraph and pair up to guess the animal.
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Lesson Plan
Berkshire Museum

Backyard Rocks

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Vivid Verbs

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
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Organizer
1
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Curated OER

Character Analysis Chart

For Students 3rd - 12th
This versatile graphic organizer could be used alongside any novel, poem, play, or story through which your class in studying character. Class members can get characters straight or describe particular characters in more detail with this...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bucket List Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 10th
What is on your pupils' "Bucket Lists" - the list of things they want to do before they die? Their choices of activities for this list could be very revealing, and is a great source of inspiration for a personal poem. The lesson prompts...
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Unit Plan
New York City Department of Education

Theater Units for Lower and Upper Elementary Levels

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Write Some Dialogue

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners write dialogue. For this character development lesson plan students use direct or indirect speech to include a confrontation between two characters in their story. Learners portray the emotions of the characters in addition to...
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Lesson Plan
Pulitzer Center

Writing About the "Arab Spring"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
An information-rich resource, this webpage will provide your class with all the information they need to explore a relevant real-world and little understood topic: the Middle East and the people's revolutions that shook it in the spring...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Using Commas for Clear Writing

For Students 5th - 6th
In this commas learning exercise, students learn to use commas to help write more clearly. Students complete three exercises with commas.
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Showdown in the New Wild West

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What is the root of the conflict between ranchers and environmentalists? Middle schoolers write their impressions of what an environmentalist is and does. They read the New York Times article "In New Wild West, It's Cowboys vs. Radical...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digital Storytelling

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"I Never Knew That!"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Incorporating To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, narrative writing, and friendly letters, this lesson is ideal for any number of units in your classroom. First, read chapter 10 of the novel, noting Scout and Jem's reactions to their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pizza Biography

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
A biography writing lesson with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography of Mesopotamia

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students write a letter.  In this irrigation lesson, students review how humans and the environment can interact with each other, learn new vocabulary words having to do with Mesopotamia, learn about irrigation and view maps of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Same Theme, Different Story Using Fox by Margaret Wild

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Middle schoolers work with themes in this lesson, which is based on Fox by Margaret Wild. Because the book has multiple themes, it is a great way to transition into exploring literary analysis and writing stories. A Six Trait writing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

So Much Depends Upon...Sixteen-Word Imagery Poems Inspired by Love that Dog by Sharon Creech

For Teachers 6th - 7th
After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (and possibly shedding a few tears), middle schoolers work on their own sixteen-word poems with a Six Trait writing activity. They focus on word choice in this activity to capture an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Counting Up/Down Stories

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Impersonating Great Poets Using "Science Verse" by Jon Scieszka

For Teachers 5th - 7th
A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this lesson mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but to create their...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Streamlining Your Writing

For Students 5th - 6th
In this writing skills learning exercise, learners improve their writing by completing the three exercises. Students improve wordy phrases, add possessive nouns, and then write a description of a dramatic weather event.