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Warm Up with Winter Writing
Try these cool writing lesson ideas that promote creativity and increase vocabulary.
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Found Poetry Finds Popularity
Writers use non-fiction pieces to craft found poems across all domains for a New York Times writing contest.
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Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)
Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...
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Personal Narratives
Students discover journalism by writing about themselves. In this non-fiction writing instructional activity, students discuss the outline of a personal narrative and write a paper about an experience they've had. Students reflect on...
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Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
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Using a Magazine/Non-Fiction Texts
Working with magazine articles and other informational texts, students identify the parts of a non-fiction work. The learners use SMART board files to guide instruction, as well as a transition to writing their own non-fiction article in...
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Peer writing evaluation (myth)
Students compose myths. In this creative writing activity students use their knowledge of the features of myths to compose their own, then share with a peer for feedback.
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Fact and Opinion Lesson Plan
How are fact and opinion different? Middle schoolers explore fact and opinion and write articles pertaining to a football match, eliminating all opinion statements in order to focus on the facts. Then they discuss bias in the media....
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Writing A Thanksgiving Day Story
Students write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...
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Writing to Analyze, Comment and Review
In this writing to analyze, comment and review worksheet, students analyze blurbs, comment on the openings and endings of novels, and review a book from their own choosing. Students answer seventy short answer questions.
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Writing A Thanksgiving Day Story
Middle schoolers write a Thanksgiving story. In this holiday writing lesson, students use s list of specific words to create a fictional or non-fiction Thanksgiving story.
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Writing - Story Ideas
Students write their story in first person as a non-fiction story, or they can write the story in third person as a fictional story and use different characters. They can choose an idea from one of the story starters provided.
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Persuasive and Emotive Language Lesson Plan
Students explore persuasive language. In this emotive language instructional activity, students consider the use of language that incites readers as they participate in reading and writing activities that require them to describe a...
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Biography: Telling Someone's Life Story
There are many different ways to help your students get excited about writing biographies.
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Learning About Evaluation
Middle schoolers evaluate the essays of their classmates. In this evaluation activity, students write two non-fiction essays on two different topics that they may choose. After a lecture on the aspects of the paper that will be...
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Rain Forest Reporters
Students research and write articles for an imaginary scientific magazine about rain forests. In this rain forest instructional activity, students research both ecosystems and magazine writing styles. They act as reporters and editors of...
Appalachian State University
What Are Graphic Novels?
To do this engaging and pleasurable activity, your learners should have already read a graphic novel, and produced a piece of writing that can be reproduced into the format of a graphic novel. This exercise provides a script that...
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Puerto Rico: The 51st State?
Young scholars explore Puerto Rico. In this Puerto Rico current events lesson plan, students conduct a Webquest to answer questions about Puerto Rico's culture. Young scholars discuss whether Puerto Rico is a country or a state, and...
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Ted Hughes "Pike"
Students analyze how a poet uses language to capture creatures and draft a poem on a 'sinister' animal. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read Ted Hughes' poem 'Pike' and analyze pictures of pike fish. Students use their research...
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I, Robot: Chapter One
Students discuss literature about technology in the 20th century. In this book study lesson, students read I, Robot by Isaac Asimov and compare the fiction to technology in the 20th century.
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Parts of Speech: Active Verbs
Pupils use White Fang to help them study active verbs. In this grammar lesson, students define active verbs and find examples in the the novel White Fang. Pupils then use ProQuest to research a place they'd like to visit. Students write...
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Wild Animal Science
Students discover how environmental factors impact the survival of a population. In this landscape design lesson, students create a new animal and discuss the relationship between the animal and its environment before creating a habitat...
Lesson Planet
New Books for Black History Month
Suggested books to help students better understand African American history.
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It's All Greek to Me!
While the ideas for Ancient Greek research are solid, there is little detail to help make your job easier. The focus here is familiarizing your class with online databases and print resources in their school library. After direct...