Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scary Short Story Writing Lesson

For Teachers 6th - 8th
There's nothing like the prospect of writing a scary story to get your middle schoolers' writing juices flowing! In the lesson presented here, pupils listen to scary short stories read to them by the teacher. Then, a discussion ensues...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Defining Conflict Using "The Interlopers"

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts instructional activity on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing...
Lesson Plan
Scholastic

What Happened Next? (Grades K-4)

For Teachers K - 4th Standards
Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Who Are You Supposed to Be?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A new way to connect visual art and creative writing is on the horizon. Kids first identify the characters in the painting Rabbit Hunt, then write narrative from the perspective of one of the characters in the painting. They combine...
Activity
Phantom of Opera

The Phantom of the Opera: Ideas for Research and Discussion

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
You could spend a full day discussing The Phantom of the Opera and not scratch the surface, but a set of lessons about the literary elements and themes of the musical production is a great start. Young thespians build upon the...
Lesson Plan
The New York Times

Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Lesson Plan
Digital Writing and Research Lab's – Lesson Plans

Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Collaborative Writing

For Teachers 4th
Collaborative writing projects can be a lot of fun for students. They use a Scholastic Story Starter and the class blog to write a creative story containing basic story elements. The web link to Scholastic is included but non of the...
Lesson Plan
Maine Content Literacy Project

Understanding Theme

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The ninth in a fourteen-lesson series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking in with the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
Activity
NWT Literacy Council

How to Kit: Readers Theatre

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Immerse your class in a good story with an extensive resource featuring reader's theater techniques. The worksheets are designed for both teacher and student, and carefully explain how to organize, write, and perform stories in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

St. Patrick’s Day

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Combine math, creative writing, and leprechauns in a fun St. Patrick's Day activity! Using a bag of gold coins and marshmallows, kids write a math story about a leprechaun that includes a multi-step equation to solve.
Unit Plan
Massachusetts Department of Education

Nostalgia

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
To prepare for crafting their own memoir, class members examine poetry by Margaret Atwood, Billy Collins, Robert Hayden, and Claude McKay, stories by Richard Rodriquez and Willa Cather, and Barry Levinson's film Avalon. They examine...
Lesson Plan
Music Publishers Association of the United States

I Made It. I Own It. Please Don't Steal It.

For Teachers 3rd - 4th Standards
Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...
Lesson Plan
Roald Dahl

The Twits - Muggle-Wump Has an Idea

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
If a bar of chocolate was on the floor, would you try to pick it up? What if it was covered with glue? The eighth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has scholars imagine crazy scenarios. The...
Activity
2
2
National Park Service

A Natural Resource Called Peace

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Get your pupils outside and teach them about peace at the same time! Scholars create a list describing peace, hike outside, add to that list, and later create poems. The exercises support differentiation for your individual classes as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating an Original Opera

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 2, Lesson 17

For Teachers 10th Standards
Madness, violence, despair—the titular character of Shakespeare's Macbeth is spiraling out of control. Pupils first explore the topic with a collaborative jigsaw discussion. At the end of the instructional activity, they write about how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Problem Solvers: Challenge Activities (Theme 4)

For Teachers 4th Standards
Creative activities help bring literature alive. The first of a set of lessons designed to accompany selections from Theme 4: Problem Solvers uses activities such as skits, responses to music, and social studies projects. These...
Printables
SEN Teacher

Literacy Dice

For Students K - 4th Standards
Reinforce literacy skills using a six-sided die that focuses on phonics and story starters. Scholars roll, and show what they know about blends, plots, and more! 
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

End of Unit Assessment, Part 1: Text-Dependent Questions and Storyboard Draft: “You Can Do a Graphic Novel” Excerpt

For Teachers 5th Standards
Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Wake County Public Schools

Language

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Have your class doing everything from reading literature, analyzing literary devices, identifying independent and dependent clauses, discussing, and writing creatively with the rich resource found here. After a mini lesson on independent...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map It Out

For Teachers K - 4th
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...