K12 Reader
My Favorite Book
A simple question can spark such a range of responses and creative thought. Use this writing prompt to get your youngsters talking about the thrills and adventures of reading, as they detail their favorite books, what they are about, and...
K12 Reader
Lost and Found
You're walking down the street and find a wallet on the ground. What do you do with it? This age-old scenario serves as a narrative writing prompt that challenges children to come up with creative stories describing the...
Folger Shakespeare Library
Julius Caesar Curriculum Guide
You needn't beware using Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in your classroom. You, too, can be valiant and let loose your young actor's creativity, guided by the suggestions in a curriculum guide so filled with a delightful mix of elements...
Curated OER
Simile Practice
Inspire creative writing by studying similes. This sheet provides learners with 10 different topics, and they must create a simile for each topic. Example topics include: favorite teacher, the waterfall, a parrot, the first day of...
Curated OER
Creating Compassionate Communities
Have you ever lost someone? Middle and high school learners journal about a time they experienced the loss of someone through death, divorce, moving, or another type of change. They share their responses and discuss an article relating...
Curated OER
Appetizing Adverbs
Have your class construct an adverb wheel. Learners brainstorm adverbs to modify the verbs they use to describe how they will eat a doughnut hole. They then use the wheel to help them write creative sentences.
Curated OER
Hot Dog Writing
Use a hot dog as a metaphor for good reading, and make your class drool! Writers identify the parts of a paragraph, linking them to parts of a hot dog. Then, they translate this knowledge into a well-written paragraph. While a check-list...
Curated OER
Learning About Trees
After looking at pictures of trees, discussing tree growth, and identifying the parts of a tree, lead your class on a nature walk and have them collect samples and record their observations. They then work in pairs to polish the...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Early American Novel: Exploring the Emergence of a Genre
Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...
Civil War Trust
The Common Civil War Soldier
Imagine you are a soldier in the Civil War. What are you wearing? What do you need to carry with you? Examine the life of a person during the Civil War, from drummer boys to powder monkeys to musket-toting soldiers. Elementary...
Broadway GPS
Kinky Boots—The New Musical: Official Show Guide
Drag queens in thigh-high shiny red leather boots! Welcome to Kinky Boots, the Tony Award-winning musical about a young man trying to save his family-owned shoe-making business. With an engaging story line and songs by Cyndi Lauper, the...
Collaborative Learning Project
Simple to Complex Sentences
Such a creative game idea, this activity might actually make grammar fun! Learners play a modified game of connect-four by identifying the grammatical name for different words and phrases and then working them into simple sentences to...
Curated OER
Be the Change: Core Values
How do core values and identity contribute to citizenship and leadership? After engaging in a series of activities that explore core values, writers craft a children’s story that focuses on one value. They arrange to read their story to...
PreKinders
Poison Dart Frogs
Learn about the poison dart frogs of the rainforest with a slide show that features facts and pictures. Each slide educates viewers about poison dart frogs, such as where they live, what they eat, and how they are poisonous.
Reed Novel Studies
Pictures of Hollis Woods: Novel Study
Scholars read about Hollis, an orphan in Pictures of Hollis Woods, and complete worksheet activities. Activities include using vocabulary words to complete sentences, answering comprehension questions, and writing poetry.
Curated OER
Robbing the 'Hood?
Students investigate historical figures and how they play a role in tourism by reading and discussing the article "When Robin Hood Supped, Was it Yorkshire Pudding?" In groups, students investigate issues related in the article in...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 1: Contemporary Fiction - They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...
New York City Department of Education
Peter’s Garden
Watch scholars' understanding of fractions bloom. The resource presents a performance task where the fractions are equal parts from the same whole, and mathematicians must use them to solve problems about a grade level garden. Teachers...
Curated OER
Activity 5: Creative Writing/Expression About Child Labor
Middle schoolers research child labor using Internet resources. They present the information in a creative writing piece and post it on Chalkboard.
Curated OER
Explore Point of View Through Aerial Photography
Read the story Amelia the Pigeon and discuss perspective. Since Amelia is a pigeon with a bird's eye view, use aerial photography to enhance your learners' understanding. Have fun connecting art and literature while talking about...
Curated OER
Creative Body Movement
Learners perform a brief dance movement and demonstrate the use of the three postures correctly, safely, and creatively.
Curated OER
Telling Stories: Symbols of a Life
Art and literature can go hand in hand, they both are used to express elements of the self in a creative and interesting way. Budding story tellers interpret and analyze the narrative elements they find in a work of art. They focus on...
Curated OER
Peace Posters
Learners focus on a theme to create a poster or collage. In this theme based art project, students communicate their peace theme through drawings to communicate their present feeling and ideas. Learners learn the emotions conveyed in the...
Curated OER
Women
A close study of two works of art provides the introduction to this cross-curricular writing assignment. After comparing the clothing, facial expressions, body language, setting, and color in the two 19th century paintings Tissout’s...