Curated OER
Everyone Can Write Poetry
Embark on a journey of writing several different types of poetry. Fifth graders read several examples, and use the examples to model their own writing. Each poem is to be accompanied by a different art visual representation. In the end,...
Curated OER
Short But Sweet
After analyzing and evaluating news summaries found in the New York Times "Week in Review" section, middle schoolers study the steps for summarizing a news article briefly and accurately. They write two news summaries: one on a newspaper...
Curated OER
Blogging to Create a Community of Writers #6: Writing a Review
Looking for a good social media lesson for your class? Then, this lesson is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book, restaurant, CD/musical...
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Frame Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...
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Convince that Jury (Inspired by Roald Dahl's
What happened to a murder case when the police eat the murder weapon? After reading Roald Dahl's dark and ironic short story "Lamb to the Slaughter," students write a persuasive essay to convince a jury that the wife who killed her...
Curated OER
Picture Books, Retelling, and Writing
Students create stories using only pictures. In this visual storytelling lesson, students read Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie de Paola and analyze the wordless story. Students create new text for the book by writing on...
Curated OER
You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. In this haiku instructional activity, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku...
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Vivid Verbs
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...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive...
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"Write-a-Letter-to-the-Teacher" Book Report
Students practice writing a friendly letter to the teacher as a method of reviewing a book. They write a three paragraph report on a book that they read in friendly letter format.
Code.org
Minecraft Hour of Code
Devote an hour to computer coding ... it's time well spent! The activity has young computer scientists write code to solve puzzles in the Minecraft game. They learn how to apply block codes and repeat loops.
Curated OER
A Year in Review: The Memoir
If you are planning a unit on memoir and autobiographical narrative, you should consider this resource. Using Internet research skills, pupils review works by James Frey and Henry David Thoreau. In response to these works, learners...
Curated OER
Shakespeare: Henry V - Writing Task
Pairs of pupils choose a person who they consider to be a hero. They research that person, develop a speech, and deliver it to the class in hopes of persuading them that this person really is a hero. A vote is taken after the...
Curated OER
Know It All: Seals! Teaching Plan
Pupils discover information about seals, including behavior and habitat. For this early childhood lesson plan, students identify various aspects about seals. Pupils create an illustration or painting of their favorite seal, and write a...
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Fun with Summarizing
Students practice summarization by creating a story map. After reading Freckle Juice, students working in groups, create a story map of the main events of the story. Groups use their story maps to summarize a chapter of the story and...
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Read This Book
Learners practice summarizing a story that they have read. They write a persuasive essay encouraging others to read the story they have finished. They are to create a movie trailer or advertisement to promote the book.
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Magical Creatures
Students investigate entertaining characters within stories. In this writing lesson plan, students review nouns and adjectives and discuss magical characters. Students ask themselves questions about their selected characters and...
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Frog Principal Lesson Plan
Learners read the fractured fairy tale, The Frog Principal by Stephanie Calmenson and compare it to the original version in order to gain deeper understanding of the fairy tale genre. In this fairy tale activity, students identify and...
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Creek Teach
Students develop lessons which they teach to younger students in a type of outdoor education camp.
Curated OER
Writing Fiction lesson plan
Students compose a opening paragraph that sets the scene and foreshadows events. In this writing fiction lesson, students write an opening paragraph about a mugging and describe the scene in a way that foreshadows something bad is...
Curated OER
Picture This - Stars Over Hoke
The classroom becomes a safe and inclusive place for your ELLs as they create documents about their lives. Learners create, read, and present story books based on their own personal experiences. They use digital cameras to take...
Curated OER
Oceans: A Sensory Haiku
Students create an ocean haiku. In this haiku activity, students use their five senses to write a haiku. Students watch videos about the ocean, make a sensory portrait, and create a class haiku.
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing
Seventh graders, in pairs, decide on a product they would like to advertise and design an advertising plan for said product. Using ClarisWorks, 7th graders create an advertisement using pictures, vote on their favorite and discuss what...
John F. Kennedy Center
Jazz music, Dance and Poetry
Students view video and become familiar with the type of movement in jazz dance. In this jazz dance lesson, students write a cinquain about jazz dance. Students recognize the elements of jazz dance and the type of music...