Curated OER
Feature Story/Interview Lesson Plan
Young journalists get a chance to practice their story writing skills by listening to an interview. Using the provided script, a class member interviews a treasure hunter (the instructor) while classmates take notes and then compose a...
Education World
My Pumpkin Story
Have young pumpkin carvers use technology to create a unique pumpkin face and write a short story about the special characteristics of their pumpkin.
Curated OER
What A Pair! A Cross Grade Writing Activity
What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...
Curated OER
Teach Text Features & Read Nonfiction
Elementary schoolers examine the components of reading nonfiction. They use think-alouds to help them complete reading the selected sections. They also identify text features as they read.
Curated OER
Telling Stories in Art: Symbols of a Life
Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...
Curated OER
Digital Storytelling
Scholars of all ages can use the various tools of technology to construct and illustrate a story. Utilizing this resource, learners work with a partner to brainstorm and draft a story based on personal experience. They use computer...
Curated OER
Where Do I Begin: Writing an Effective Feature Story
High schoolers write an effective feature story. In this journalism lesson plan, students learn through 6 activities to ask open-ended questions, write effective leads, and handle quotes, and write headlines for news stories.
ReadWriteThink
Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter
Everyone deserves to read a great book! Here, pupils write a persuasive letter to the school's librarian detailing their favorite story and why it should be found on the shelves. Class members' persuasive reading passages are shared with...
Scholastic
What Happened Next? (Grades K-4)
Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....
Curated OER
Greek Story Vases
There are so many ways to tell a story! Develop visual storytelling skills while facilitating an understanding of Greek art and culture. Learners design Greek style images to tell a story through art. They add their designs to Styrofoam...
National Council of Teachers of English
Writing Poetry with Rebus and Rhyme
Young scholars write rhyming poems using rebus. With pictures instead of words, authors create original work about things they love.
Curated OER
Write a Story
Here is a great way to explore narrative writing! Learners review a previously constructed story map and identify the characters, setting, and main events in the book Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock retold by Eric A. Kimmel. They...
Curated OER
Varied Beginnings: Research Process / Narrative Writing Techniques
What's the best way to start a story? Learners write a memoir using effective openings. They research the process and work through a list of hooks to use in their writing. They use at least two hooks to begin their personal memoir. A...
Global Oneness Project
Citizen Photojournalism
Matt Black's photo essay, "The Geography of Poverty" provides a shocking reminder of the poverty that exists in the United States. The resource not only focuses attention on poverty but also conditions that have given rise to situation...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Priceman)
What a fun way to explore new vocabulary words! Marjorie Priceman's book Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride offers plenty of new words for scholars to learn in context: amateur, assembled,...
Art Institute of Chicago
African Myths and Stories
Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.
Curated OER
Identifying Setting: Expository Writing
Your class can take turns describing a well know location or setting without giving its name, and the rest of the class can try to identify the location, based on the details given. They chart the elements that helped in the...
EngageNY
Writing the Children’s Book: Day Three
Illustrations are a key feature of children's books. Using the resource, pupils learn about adding illustrations to their children's books. Next, as they complete their storyboards and work on their second drafts, they consider their...
Curated OER
Under Construction
Young readers examine the elements of story structure that are included in all stories. They include these elements in their own written pieces. This phenomenally-designed plan has everything you need to easily implement it in your...
Curated OER
What's Special About Nonfiction?
Students examine the difference between nonfiction and fictional writing. They identify the characteristics of nonfiction literature and examine how a nonfiction textbook organizes information.
Curated OER
Creating a Newspaper
Get the scoop with a fun, engaging newspaper project. After analyzing the parts of a newspaper, including the headline, subtitles, and pictures or images, young journalists get to work by writing their own stories in a newspaper article...
Scholastic
Defining Conflict Using "The Interlopers"
Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts instructional activity on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing...
Curated OER
Editing Marks, Part 1
Dander from the show Twisted Whiskers and characters from My Little Pony are featured in this three part lesson that explores using story pyramids to scaffold ideas, adding sensory details to enrich writing, and editing using common...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Alexander Graham Bell
Study the features of nonfiction text with a set of comprehension and analysis materials. Readers learn about Alexander Graham Bell with questions about the text, writing prompts, and proofreading activities.