Curated OER
Extra, Extra Write All About It!
Pupils examine photographs from newspapers and write a headline and story for one of the examples. In this news writing lesson, students analyze a photograph as a class and discuss it. Pupils analyze photographs and example headlines...
Curated OER
Writing Drama-Trying Your Hand at being a Playwright
Fifth graders chart the elements of drama. For this performing arts lesson, 5th graders discuss the role of a playwrite, practice doing some Reader's Theatre scripts, write a paragraph about a problem between two people, and perform...
Curated OER
Poetry Gifts
What kind of shoe is this person? What time of day is this person? Aspiring poets’ responses to a list of questions provide descriptive words and phrases that can be crafted into a blank verse poem. A link to sample poems is provided.
Curated OER
Elmer by David McKee
Students explore individual differences. In this literacy and self-esteem lesson, students listen to the story Elmo by David McKee, then describe what characteristics make Elmo special. Students complete a T chart showing how Elmo looked...
Polk Bros Foundation
History Dramatists
Bring the drama of history to life in your class and give your learners the opportunity to illustrate their understanding of a historical situation through the medium of a dialogue and/or play. Your young historians will consider a...
Curated OER
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram
Compare and contrast the characters in John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Using a Venn diagram, kids write in different traits to describe each person, and note their shared characteristics in the middle section.
Curated OER
Voices of Our People: A Patchwork of Cultures
Students view a gallery of photographs online and list objective and subject observations of the photos. They develop questions about the photos and write first person narratives about them.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Images of Faulkner and the South
Learners research one aspect of the life of Faulkner and the culture of the South. For this As I Lay Dying instructional activity, learners explore a webpage on Faulkner and write a summary. Learners analyze the images...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Shaking the Family Tree
Create family trees while reading "Little House in the Big Woods." After examining Laura Ingalls Wilder's family tree, compare it to a real tree's roots and branches. Conclude with interviewing family members and decorating family...
Curated OER
Pronouns
Fifth graders study pronouns. In this grammar instructional activity, 5th graders discuss what a pronoun is and write what they did last night using pronouns.
Curated OER
Pam Munoz Ryan Shares Writing Secrets
Students conduct interviews. For this interviewing lesson, students read an interview of Pam Munoz Ryan to see where she got her ideas from in her story. They interview someone and create a scrapbook to show details of the...
Curated OER
Poetry Writing
Students compose a piece of poetry modeled after the poetry of Carl Sandburg and share their poem(s) with their colleagues. They use a cluster diagram to organize their thoughts and brainstorm their ideas.
Curated OER
Journal Writing
Students gain a better understanding of good journal writing. They examine how there are two types of journals - personal and public, yet each serves to describe the writers feelings and experiences about a given event.
Curated OER
Demystifying Mood in Creative Writing
Students discover how writing is affected by mood and emotions. They learn proper mood descriptors and read sample pieces of writing to better explain mood.
Curated OER
The Experience of Diary Writing
Students read sections of Mackenzie King's diary. King was the Prime Minister of Canada during WWII. They relate the importance of keeping a diary.
Curated OER
Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum
Students explore the American dream. In this contemporary music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of songs by Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, and David Massengill. Students create 3-D representations of the American dream and write...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood by Cynthia Rylant
Sixth graders examine the elements of writing poetry. In this creative writing lesson, 6th graders discuss a book of poetry in the setting of Appalachia. Students incorporate childhood experiences into the development of visual and...
Curated OER
A Divided Community
Students work in teams to research the history of African migration and immigration in the U.S. They present their research in a town hall discussion format and then write a paragraph about their experiences.
Curated OER
Writing Applications: Different Types of Writing and Their Characteristics
Twelfth graders rewrite a story in a different format to understand the effects of the author's style. In this writing style instructional activity, 12th graders read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and...
Curated OER
The Write Stuff
Fourth graders share a previously written portfolio piece and the class guesses the genre. Students use tally marks to keep track of how many of each piece there are in class. Once the data collection is complete, 4th graders create a...
Curated OER
Nudging Questions
Students choose one topic to write about. They brainstorm ideas about their topic or incident. They use sensory details to visualize their topic. They answer a variety of teacher directored nudging question to help them describe their...
Curated OER
The Final Word
Although this lesson is based on “Final Word,” Craig Wilson’s USA Today column, the strategies could be adapted to any local columnist. After reading three articles independently, groups share observations about content and style used by...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 9
As they read and discuss Chapter 7 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, class members continue to use the Tracking Tool worksheet to record evidence on how the central ideas are being developed.
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 3
Using questions they developed, class groups discuss Chapter 2 of Malcolm X's autobiography, focusing on the individuals and events Malcolm X feels contributed to his character development.