Curated OER
Personification Lesson Plans and Resources
This resource on personification provides three different approaches aimed at different levels. The first, appropriate for upper elementary, provides examples of personification, followed by an exercise that requires replacing a word in...
Curated OER
Using a Mentor Text to Develop a New Style of Writing
Students examine some of the author's writing traits and then make an effort to incorporate his style into their own writing. They show how richly written literature can be used as a mentor text, or model, for improving one's own writing.
Curated OER
Lead Me On - Writing Lively Leads for Book Reviews
Third graders use the concepts found in a PowerPoint presentation, and write leads for book reviews that attract readers and stimulate book interest. They are graded on their ability to engage the reader with their writing.
Curated OER
Using Adjectives to Write
Fifth graders examine how to write a story using comparative and superlative adjectives. They listen to the book "Pig Pigger Piggest" by Rick Walton and identify the comparative adjectives used in the story. Students then write a rough...
Curated OER
Literacy through Self-Ethnography
Students examine writing topics. In this writing skills instructional activity, students incorporate photography into their personal writing and align it with 6 traits skills.
Curated OER
Write Traits Characteristics
Learners are introduced to the Write Traits way of writing. They practice identifying the characteristics of Write Traits by listing the six traits and a characteristic for each trait on the board.
Curated OER
Pet Perspective
Discuss point of view through a familiar medium: your pet! Learners write a story from the perspective of their own or the class pet. Prompts such as "My Family" (or "My Class"), "My Day," and "A Day in the Life of a _________" help...
Curated OER
Meet Our Teachers
Learners of all ages interview, record, and photograph teachers and staff at their school. They organize the photo with a soundbite into a PowerPoint presentation. They transcribe the interview and write a response to it.
Curated OER
Women Call Out: The Personal Narrative
After reading and discussing several personal narratives written by women in the 1920's, class members write a personal narrative of their own about a time in their lives they felt controlled. Sample narratives can be accessed through...
California Department of Education
How to Succeed in Life
Is it possible that six simple traits lead to a happy, successful life? Part four of a six-part series of college and career readiness lessons examines the effects of character in determining success. Working groups discuss...
Peace Corps
Features of Culture
Explore the melting pot in your own classroom with a lesson that focuses on cultural beliefs, traditions, and traits. Middle and high schoolers examine the details of their own identified cultures before sharing them with peers, and...
Curated OER
Let's Edit!
Learners in fourth grade pair up with students in second grade to edit writing convension.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Are You Balanced?
Balance scales create a strong visual of how an individual prioritizes one's self alongside their commitments to the community, school, and home. Scholars complete a graphic organizer then discuss their findings with their peers. A...
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
PSE Character Education: Respect
Every healthy classroom community is built on a foundation of respect. Through whole group discussions, shared readings, and collaborative activities this lesson teaches children how to be respectful of one another, making for a much...
Peace Corps
Introducing Culture
Growing up within a culture leaves a lot of ideas and values unspoken. Take a closer look at the cultures in which your learners live with a discussion activity that addresses cultural identity and traits of those living within the...
August House
The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog
Read the story The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog: A Folktale from Great Britain by Margaret Read MacDonald and choose from multiple activities to learn about the tale's theme—kindness. With so many options, your kind kids will...
Curated OER
Yo! Conventions!
Learners get in groups, take a list of words, put them into story form, and punctuate them. They present their story to the class and consider how punctuation changes meaning. Great excercise.
Curated OER
Lesson One: Characterizing Philanthropic People
Familiarize your class with philanthropy and involve individuals in philanthropic activities. First, determine the traits of philanthropic people. Class members attach sticky notes with character traits written on them to each side of at...
Curated OER
"All About Me" Paragraph
Fifth graders write a paragraph titled "All About Me" in the computer lab after they have drawn graphic organizers to fill in background information about themselves and used a "10-Point Writing Checklist" to do peer editing.
Curated OER
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom
Third graders participate in a pre-writing activity that reinforces organization in writing. They write a piece of narrative writing using the traits of organization.
Curated OER
Civil War Letter
Students put themselves in the shoes of American Civil War soldiers. In this Civil War instructional activity, students compose letters to their families from the the perspective of soldiers in the war.
Curated OER
Karen Hesse's Witness; Tolerance and Non-Discrimination
Students complete a graphic organizer depicting character views regarding African Americans during the early 20th century in America. In this graphic organizer of views lesson, students read the book Witness and become familiarized with...
Curated OER
What's the Scoop on Slang?
Learners examine examples of sports jargon by reading sports articles from a newspaper. They write a news article about a fictional sports event using examples of sports jargon.
Curated OER
Awesome Animals
Sixth graders write descriptive narratives about animals. In this descriptive writing lesson, the teacher models how to write a paragraph with interesting sensory words and exciting verbs. Students choose a picture of an animal they want...