You can't publish a story until after it has been revised and edited! Budding authors investigate the writing process while drafting an original story. They select a topic, complete a rough draft, edit it, revise it, and finally publish...

Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...

A comprehensive and immersive series of lessons that examines various aspects of story development leads learners into writing a narrative of their own. Writers develop an understanding of the writing process as they use the learning...

Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most recognized names and faces in America—but is there more to the third president of the United States? Upper elementary and middle schoolers conduct research on Jefferson, his famous home at Monticello,...

After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...

First and second graders explore the importance of having a beginning, middle, and end when writing stories. In this story writing lesson, students write short stories using the story diamond as a guide. They invite their parents to an...

Students write a story about their achievements in a sport, or their dreams for success in other areas. They create original works of art depicting their goals or anticipated achievements. They then display their stories and art.

Fill-out a story map to help your scholars with pre-writing. They will use a story map template to pre-write. They also organize their ideas into steps which become the foundation for their first draft. Concrete objects are brought in to...

Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing activity. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers. 

Examine the differences between totalitarianism and democracy in this writing lesson. Using the same format and theme from Great Expectations, young writers work in pairs to compose their own short stories. They follow guidelines for the...

Students brainstorm all the possible scenarios that would help them tell a story in detail with the whole class and with partners. They create web outlines to create a name story and then illustrate it with creative grammar usage and...

Peter Bunzi takes readers to the Victorian era with two stories, Coghaert and Moonlocket. Accompany the literary time warp with a companion packet that offers a plethora of exercises. Learning...

From Cinco de Mayo to Endangered Species day to National Hamburger Month, May is full of ideas to write about. Give young writers prompts that have everything to do with the month of May. Topics include writing a story, conducting...

Scholars read excerpts from the story, Heidi, in a three-part assessment that focuses on comparing and contrasting characters. Each part contains three tasks that challenge learners to discuss, answer comprehension...

Students compare and contrast a classic fairy tale with a fractured one. They write an advertisement that would entice a witch and a resume for a frog prince who is hiring. They publish their completed work.

Explore this engaging approach to division problem solving with young scholars. They construct story problems after drawing 3 cards that give them a type of object, how many they have of that object, and the number of groups the object...

What do images tell us about history? Dress, setting, and actions all convey cultural norms, and in essence, give reference to historical time and place. Learners compare and contrast Kunisada's Actor with Flute in Snow to Hokuei's...

Bring this lesson into your unit about creative writing and precise language. First, middle schoolers create a piece of writing with the help of their classmates. In the second part of this workshop, they edit their own piece of writing....

Fifth graders develop and practice the steps involved in imaginative writing. They follow the steps/worksheets included and write imaginative stories of their own.

Middle schoolers write descriptions, narratives, and dialogues based on objects of art and time periods in a museum. They base several writing assignments on art objects and paintings, including a literal description and an emotional...

It's hard to find inspiration; have your learners bring in a slew of magazines and search for inspiring pictures! They look for characters, setting, and possibly even conflict clues. They analyze the pictures they select, turn their...

Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.

Students read a book with each student having a specific job for the class.  In this literature lesson, students read Sarah, Plain and Tall over 10 days, dividing up responsibilities for each student to make sure everyone...