Curated OER
Sense, Sensibility and Sentences: Examining and Writing Memorable Lines
Involve your readers in finding works of literary genius. Have each individual write down compelling sentences that they read or hear, whether in a newspaper, advertisement, book, movie, song, or any other place! Once each person has a...
Curated OER
Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...
Curated OER
ABC It's as Easy as 1-2-3!
Help readers explore initial letter sounds. They will choose a letter of the alphabet and create a page for a classroom "ABC" book. They will write down various words that begin with their assigned letter and draw a picture to go in the...
Curated OER
Writing as a group activity
Did you know that 50% of all Americans can trace a relative who traveled through Ellis Island? Relive these journeys with your class and then provide sentence strategy templates for them to use to compose their own informative...
Curated OER
Impersonating Great Poets Using "Science Verse" by Jon Scieszka
A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this instructional activity mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but...
Curated OER
Make Up Your Story
Putting together an interesting story can be hard, but this set of worksheets will guide your writers into the depths of their own creativity as they characterize both their main character and villain. Using humor to keep learners...
Curated OER
Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
Curated OER
Rewriting Alexander's Day
Students experiment with word choice and sentence fluency to revise Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.
Curated OER
What We Learn From Women and Girls
Role models are all around us! Young learners celebrate Women's History Month by selecting two female role models in their lives, and writing or drawing a short description about why they admire that girl or woman.
Curated OER
Kindness Compliments
Young scholars write compliments for the staff at their school. In this compliments lesson plan, students demonstrate kindness by anonymously writing and taping compliments to people's doors around the school.
Curated OER
Clowning Around: Drawing
Kids create a clown out of shapes. They work to show emotions while practicing their drawing skills. Pupils use circles, triangles, squares, oil pastels, and their imagination to draw, color, and decorate a sad or happy clown. Tip: Have...
Curated OER
Stringbean Coes Vacation
Third graders first begin the activity by reading Vera B. Williams Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea. This book is a collection of postcards that Stringbean Coe and his brother Fred write to their family while they were on a summer...
Curated OER
Where Do We Begin?
Primary learners grasp sequence of events by discussing morning routines and reviewing the story of Little Red Riding Hood. They explore the necessity of correct order of events. As a class, create a story with a beginning, middle, and...
Curated OER
Improving Editing and Proofreading Skills
Students explore language arts by correcting grammatical errors. In this proofreading lesson, students identify the importance of editing their own writing and demonstrate their proofreading abilities by correcting several incorrect...
Carnegie Mellon University
Lab Report
A set of instructions and a 100-point grading rubric have been designed for writing lab reports. Appropriate for middle schoolers, this lays out what to include for each of the six steps in the scientific method: title, hypothesis,...
Curated OER
"Book Report Gallery" Bulletin Board
Read all about it! A camera is all you need to create a fun bulletin board promoting books. Take pictures of readers holding their favorite books and position comic-book style talk bubbles over the pictures. Created with markers and...
Curated OER
Child Safety Brochure
Students practice communication skills through brochure writing. In this child safety brochure activity, students gather important child safety information and rewrite it into a brochure. Students must use correct language....
Curated OER
Anglophone Countries Report
Fifth graders make reports on Anglophone countries and report to the class. In this Anglophone countries report students take note of presented material. Students answer questions related to the reports. students write a...
Curated OER
Grammar Through Jeopardy
Students create questions for a grammar based version of a Jeopardy quiz game. The teacher assesses student questions and decides which questions should be used in the game. Individuals compete using proper grammar, phonics, and...
Curated OER
Smack Dab in the Middle
Students read the story Smack Dab in the Middle and complete activities such as charting, writing, illustrating, graphing, and more. In this Smack Dab in the Middle lesson plan, students also discuss the book and retell the story.
Curated OER
Cinquain Poems
Students write five-line, diamond shaped poems that are very easy to write then submit one through an automatic PIZZAZZ form.
Curated OER
Homonyms
Third graders examine homonyms and make a list of the ones that they have difficulty with. They draw pictures of homonym pairs and write a sentence that goes with each word on a poster which they share with the class. They discuss why...
Curated OER
Hanging Out with Stories
Help your class listen and respond to a fictional story by creating a story structure mobile illustrating the main characters, setting, plot, problem, story events, and solution. Using a coat hanger, they will create an artistic element...
Curated OER
Novel Creation
Students create an alternate ending with digital animations to illustrate their text. In this novel creation lesson, students read a novel and analyze the plot in small groups. Students collaborate on an alternate ending...