Curated OER
Graphic Novel Writing Workshop
Khaled Hosseini’s video “Using Real People and Events” motivates learners to reflect on their own experiences and to use those experiences as the basis of a graphic novel that expresses a universal truth. The richly detailed plan...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 7: The Elements of Story
Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 17: Novel, Take 2
It's all about using peer resources in this writing process activity, which includes a fantastic novel revision worksheet packet. Learners have read a partner's story draft the night before, and groups have a "lightning round of...
Curated OER
Teaching "A Week in the Woods"
The book, A Week in the Woods is the focus of the very interesting language arts lesson plan presented here. After the book has been read, learners engage in study of certain parts of the book in order to gain a better understanding of...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 13: Going Deeper Mini-Lesson
November is NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month! If your class is participating (or simply doing a narrative writing unit), this peer review lesson is part of a larger unit which can be easily found online. Once your writers have...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 6: Introducing the Elements of Plot-Part Two
November is National Novel Writing Month, so if your young authors are embarking on this journey, be sure they understand plot elements. This collaborative lesson fits into the context of the larger NaNoWriMo project; however, the ideas...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 13: Character Interviews on NaNoTV
Kids love to pretend. Use this imaginative energy to develop their understanding of characterization. Class members dress up as a character from their novel-writing project and sit for a filmed interview. In responding to questions about...
Curated OER
The Workshop
Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 8: Setting and Mood
What mood does this story evoke? How are setting and mood linked? Young novelists explore the different emotions brought about by writing, starting by journaling things that inspire their own feelings. Examine the word mood, looking into...
Curated OER
Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Students analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on jazz...
Novelinks
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Magic Square Vocabulary
After reading chapter one of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, take part in a magic square vocabulary activity in which scholars match the term with its definition and insert its corresponding number in to...
PB Works
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
There is more going on under the surface of Ernest Hemingway's work than one can glean in an initial reading. A literature resource compares the themes and structures of several of Hemingway's works before prompting class members to use...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 1: Introducing NaNo and Novels
Did you know that November is Novel Writing Month? In the first of a series of lessons, class members are introduced to the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 3: Great Book, Gross Book
It's time for your scholars to become book reviewers! Start with a fun review of foods: are they good or gross? Learners apply these evaluation techniques to books, recording their thoughts on large pieces of butcher paper. Simply have...
Curated OER
Writing Applications
Ninth graders write a continuation of the book The Giver. In this novel writing lesson plan, 9th graders read the book and discussed the way Lois Lowry wrote the book. Students answer questions about the novel and write an continuing...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places...
Curated OER
What Makes a Novel a Novel?
They always say to write what you know. This approach is used to get middle schoolers prepared to write novels of their own. Using a favorite book as a model, potential novelists respond to prompts that ask about characters, plot, main...
Curated OER
Verb Forms- Present and Past Tense
In this verb tense worksheet, learners fill in 30 blanks by choosing the proper verb form from the word in parenthesis. They complete a conversation by putting 18 verbs into the present perfect or simple past tense.
Curated OER
Putting Away Your Inner Editor
Personify your Inner Editor. After making a richly detailed paper doll of your Inner Editor, put him or her in your locker, under your bed or buried in a time capsule in your backyard, but not near where you like to write. Refuse to...
Curated OER
Journeying to Jo'Burg and Beyond
Young scholars read and analyze the novel, "Journey to Jo'burg " by Beverly Naidoo to assess a deeper insight to the history of South Africa and how it has impacted world events today. As they think more on a global level, they begin to...
Curated OER
All Quiet on the Western Front
Students use unitedstreaming and Google Earth to investigate World War II and All Quiet on the Western Front. In this novel and technology lesson, students view a video about the novel using unitedstreaming video, visit the given...
Curated OER
Regents High School Examination Comprehensive Examination in English Session Two (2006)
In this Regents High School Examination Comprehensive Examination in English worksheet, students read an essay and an excerpt from a novel and answer reading comprehension questions. Students then compose an essay using information...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: To Kill a Mockingbird Teacher's Guide
This is a complete study guide for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee including chapter-by-chapter guided reading questions (aligned to specific Common Core Standards), discussion questions, various writing prompts, and...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Book Report Alternative Creating a New Book Cover
Contains plans for four lessons that ask students to create new book covers as an alternative to the traditional book report. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as...