Curated OER
Our Computers, Ourselves: Imagining the Digital Lives of Authors and Characters
The guiding question for this lesson is "Do computers and their contents shape who we are?" Open with a selection of Apple's commercials to introduce stereotypes and people's relationships with their computers. Then, read the attached...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...
Curated OER
Masks of Many Cultures: Celebrations of Life
Bring art and society together with this highly creative and interesting lesson. Learners research various uses of masks in ceremonies. They then create a ceremony of their own and a mask to go along with it. They film themselves...
Curated OER
I'm a Changed Pig
Introduce your class to fairy tales with this lesson. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the fairy tale....
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: Assessment Strategy
Close up your study of Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science with a letter-writing assignment. Pupils prepare by journaling and sharing with a partner. They then compose letters that focus on a big idea from the...
Curated OER
Story Starters
Here you will find a set of brilliant story starters which can be used to give children ideas for a story. There are ten story starters all together, and each one of them should tickle the imagination of your young writers. Sometimes, a...
Curated OER
Hunger in the World
Consider various aspects of world hunger in this writing lesson. After taking a pre-test, middle and high schoolers play a map game, analyze and discuss world statistics, and write a report on an assigned country. The lesson can apply to...
Curated OER
Lesson: While You Were Sleeping....
Imagine you are a bug living on a leaf in the painting, Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase by Maria van Oosterwyck. This is what you'll tell your class as they analyze the lovely image. They list details in the painting, find two insects...
Curated OER
lesson: Facing a Stone Situation
Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...
Curated OER
Lesson: Straight from the Horse's Mouth
Imagine life from a horse's perspective. That's what the class will be doing after they analyze images of the Crow installation piece, Horse Outfit. They analyze the cultural significance of the work, the tribe who created it, and then...
Google
Friends: Texting Story
Sometimes it's okay to text in school. Young computer scientists work in the Scratch program to write a text message conversation among friends. They use different sprites within the program to represent each side of the conversation to...
Curated OER
Lesson: Beyond First Impressions
Just like the colors and techniques used to create a vivid image, learners will use exceptional language to create vivid stories. They examine the techniques used to tell a visual story in the painting, Road to Santa Fe. They then use...
Curated OER
Writing Magic
Students write a story. In this writing lesson plan, students are given a series of prompts to promote them in writing a story. The prompts include writing a free write, writing about characters, writing about a setting, writing about...
Curated OER
Imagine a Kelp Forest
Students write a story based on their research of the kelp forest. In this ecosystem lesson, students view a video and research the kelp forest ecosystem. They write a short story imagining the discovery of a new species in the kelp forest.
Curated OER
Shakespeare: The Nature of Writing and the Writing of Nature
This lesson plan uses Shakespeare's writing as a model for elementary students, encouraging them use their imaginations to explore to the evocative powers of language. It gives them a manageable piece of text which they can master and...
Curated OER
Imag(in)ing History Across Generations
Students find an image depicting events of September 11 or after and write a letter to their future grandchldren explaining the image and why those chose to preserve it for them.
Curated OER
Indianapolis 500 Unit -- Writing
Fourth graders write a narrative from a race car driver's point of view. In this narratives instructional activity students use the narrative writing format to write about a race car driver's experiences in the Indianapolis 500. The...
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Imagining Back Story: Creating an Artifact for an Extra-Extended Text
Students create a "back story" for a character from Measure for Measure. In this Measure for Measure lesson, students read the text closely as they look for clues about where the character came from and how he or she became what...
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Adventure Writing: Oregon's Landscape as a Setting
Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...
Curated OER
Panther Exam: Writing a Play
Students demonstrate their knowledge of panthers by writing a play on the subject. In this animal life lesson, students view a slide-show on school computers of a veterinary exam of a panther. Students utilize this...
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Writing Conversation: Using Quotation Marks
For this language arts worksheet, students learn to use quotation marks in written conversation. Students proofread 5 sentences and add the necessary punctuation. Then students write a conversation, starting a new line and indenting with...
Curated OER
From a Pet's Point of View
Learners explore the concept of point of view. In this point of view lesson plan, students discuss the point of view of a pet and write an imaginative story. Learners then create a power point presetation for the class to...
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Think of an Ending
Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson plan in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of...
Curated OER
Lesson: Uncovering a Mystery: Making a Hypothesis
The class is presented with an image of a hand-carved leg. They act as art historians and hypothesize as to the purpose, nature, and creators of this amazing wooden leg. They compose journal entries from the point of view of an art...