Curated OER
Same Theme, Different Story Using Fox by Margaret Wild
Middle schoolers work with themes in this lesson, which is based on Fox by Margaret Wild. Because the book has multiple themes, it is a great way to transition into exploring literary analysis and writing stories. A Six Trait writing...
Curated OER
Developing a Topic for Writing Using an Idea Web
Teach your upper graders how to use an idea web to develop a topic for writing. After reading a variety of stories about friendship (a list of stories with the theme of friendship is included), model using an idea web. Class members...
National Gallery of Canada
Picture This!
Introduce your class to Inuit prints and use these artworks as inspiration for a printmaking activity. Pupils make stories to go along with the images and then come up with their own heroic moments to illustrate. They take moments from...
Activated Story Theatre
Orpheus- A Greek Myth: Reader's Theatre Script
Is this any way to treat a Greek Myth? By all means, turn the tale of Orpheus into a reader's theatre exercise.
Curated OER
Sound/Story
Students combine creativity with the rigor of careful editing by adding music to their story. It forces them to focus on how they communicate the meaning of their story to the listener.
Curated OER
Write Me a Mystery
Eleventh graders, in groups, pre-write, draft, edit and revise a murder mystery short story to hone their skills in short story drafting, editing and revision, group collaboration and computer usage. They also evaluate writing for both...
Teaching Oasis
Gingerbread Baby Lesson Plan Guide
Reinforce reading comprehension and story mapping skills with the help from a story, Gingerbread Baby by Jen Brett. Individuals discover new vocabulary, make predictions, retell main events, respond to reading using a graphic...
K20 LEARN
A Way With Words: Copy Editing And The Writing Process
Learning to edit copy using correct grammar and mechanics is an essential skill in school—where scholars are called upon to edit their peers' writing—and in business. Class members practice this skill by first editing a provided article...
Curated OER
“I Can” Common Core! 1st Grade Writing
"I can" statements are great for wording the Common Core standards in a way everybody will understand. Prime first graders with a writing checklist that addresses eight key expository writing standards taken directly from the Common...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Comprehension: Narrative Text Structure, Story Pieces
An activity boosts reading comprehension by challenging scholars to answer questions about a narrative tale detailing elements—plot, characters, setting, theme, problem, and solution.
Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District
4th Grade Personal Narrative
Throughout 10 lessons, fourth graders learn how to plan, organize, write, and edit their own personal narratives. In the beginning, young writers come up with ideas of personal experiences and the emotions linked with those experiences....
Reed Novel Studies
No Talking: Novel Study
Many of the world's most inspirational sayings are attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. Using the No Talking novel study, pupils research and write about one of his sayings. Additionally, they practice alliteration and write a quintet that...
Reed Novel Studies
To Kill a Mockingbird: Novel Study
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American fiction writer whose biggest claim to fame was the creation of Tarzan. Using the novel study for Harper Lee's beloved novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, pupils research and list facts about him or another...
Reed Novel Studies
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing: Novel Study
Many turtle species can retreat their heads into their shells when threatened by predators. With the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing novel study, pupils conduct research to uncover other interesting turtle facts. As they explore Judy...
Curated OER
PhotoStory 3 Lesson Plan
In this lesson, PhotoStory 3, young scholars create a story board of an original poem through the use of PhotoStory 3 presentation. Students write a poem and use it to develop their storyboard. Young scholars publish and share their...
Curated OER
Writing: A Lesson Plan on Beginnings
Students rewrite the beginning of a story. For this writing lesson, students read stories from Spooky South by S.E. Schlosser in order to gain exposure to different ways to begin a story. Then, students chose one of the three techniques...
Curated OER
Original Children's Books
Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...
Curated OER
Spinning My Tale
Begin writing personal narratives in this writing lesson. Junior high writers start by writing a journal about their favorite holiday. They read a book at their skill level and use graphic organizers to record their ideas for writing....
Curated OER
Combining with Participial Phrases
Combine participial phrases and creative writing with this lesson, which is equally helpful for writing skills and conventions. After a mini-lesson on participial phrases and reading the picture book Dancing in the Wings, pupils use a...
Curated OER
Ballad
Young balladeers analyze examples of ballads and generate a list of common traits (story, quatrains, rhyme schemes, refrains, etc.), then identify these traits in Robert W. Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and a ballad written by...
Reed Novel Studies
A Single Shard: Novel Study
Fulfilling a dream requires a lot of hard work. A study guide for the novel A Single Shard shares the dream of a young Korean orphan. As readers work through the guide, they answer comprehension questions about Tree-ear and the...
Reed Novel Studies
There's a Boy In The Girls' Bathroom: Novel Study
People travel to Washington, DC from all over the world to take a tour of the White House or catch a glimpse of the Washington Monument. Using the novel study for There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar, scholars research an...
Curated OER
The Writing Process
In this writing as a process worksheet, students explore how writing is a process instead of a finished piece of work. Students also test out how to mind map a story.
Curated OER
Learning to Organize Writing
Encourage focus and organization in the writing of your second, third, and fourth grade classes. Learners are asked to select a room in their house and narrow in on how it looks, smells, or feels. After writing a short paragraph...