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...

Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...

What makes a novel a novel? Class members select a favorite novel, record their impressions on a worksheet, and then come together in groups to discuss the elements common to narrative writing. Next, they identify the characters, the...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select...

Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...

Students investigate storytelling elements by writing their own fiction stories.  In this creative writing lesson, students listen as the teacher reads a fictional story.  Students analyze the lack of rules in the story and...

Learners integrate Author and Biography study with Students personal perspective. They make connections between research and creative writing. Learners enrich research and critical thinking skills. They encourage students to think about...

Students use familiar characters, plots, and settings from traditional fairy tales to create "fractured" versions, while experimenting with satire, irony and parody. A fractured fairy tale is designed to be humorous by changing the story...

Learners explore a content area by reading both fiction and nonfiction texts on the topic. They do more research online about the topic. After comparing the texts, they create their own written original work, using both narrative and...

Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition instructional activity, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In...

Sixth graders discover the exploration of the United States by participating in a class activity.  In this U.S. History lesson, 6th graders research the Lewis and Clark expedition and participate in a game of Jeopardy based on the...

Young scholars become familiar with an American legend that is unfamiliar to many. Presented with the legend of Forest Joe, a runaway slave who, much like Robin Hood, stole from the rich to give to the poor, students draw comparisons and...