Curated OER
Describe My City
Middle schoolers explore the functions of cities by creating a visual image of their own neighborhood. Students diagram, list, and label the major businesses and cultural areas of the neighborhood where they grew up, then write a letter...
Curated OER
Getting Here from There
Students role-play early 20th century immigrants on their way to Indiana. They consider the methods of travel available to them and write a letter to a friend outlining their travel plans and adventures during the trip.
Virginia Department of Education
Deciding the Mode
Are your young writers having difficulty distinguishing between expository and persuasive writing? Discuss the difference between the two, and how some prompts can be responded to in either fashion. Included here is a simple lesson plan...
Curated OER
Our Picture and Word Book
Create a fun song for your young learners! It should include each of their names and use rhyme to make it memorable. Then show the class a picture dictionary, and have learners make their own class dictionary! If you have time, consider...
Council for Economic Education
Satisfaction Please! (Part 1)
The topic of consumerism seems easy to those who participate actively in the US economy, but pupils who are new to economics may see the idea as foreign. Help them understand their rights as consumers and what to expect when interacting...
Curated OER
Aesop's Fables
Examine the fables of Aesop with your class. Pupils identify the morals of fables and role-play a scene from their favorite fable of Aesop. Additionally, they compose letters to a favorite character in the fable. Learners role-play again...
Curated OER
Summer Fun! Vacation Destination Postcards
Students design a postcard with a graph and text. They research their favorite vacation spot. Pupils write a friendly letter to their parents requesting to visit this vacation destination. Students use a Circle Map, to help fill in their...
Curated OER
A Stinking Smelly Sewer
Students create a timeline of events that occurred in the Nashua River Valley as presented in the book, "A River Ran Wild." They write a description of a selected time period on an index card for a class timeline, and write a letter to...
Curated OER
Time for All Ages
Fourth graders discover time keeping by analyzing technological advances in history. In this time lesson, 4th graders create and complete a KWL chart based on their research of a famous timekeeping invention, such as a sundial....
Curated OER
First Day of School: I'll Get to Know You
Students participate in a letter matching game that pairs students so that they can introduce a new friend. They listen to the Shel Silverstein book, The Giving Tree and write a letter to the class telling them what they will give to the...
Curated OER
Folk Tales Thematic Unit
Second graders read different folk tales and discuss them. They are given a template of a letter and they are to write a friendly letter. Special education students are paired with advanced students to help them.
Curated OER
Van Gogh's Self-Portraits
Students examine Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits and letters. They consider how first-person art forms aid the process of self-discovery. They produce a Van Gogh-style self-portrait and write a letter describing it
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Picture Poetry
What a fun idea! The class discusses, and then writes free-verse poems using sensory detail. They get into small collaborative writing teams to compose their poems. Next, they pantomime the actions from the poem while their teammates...
Curated OER
Metric Cookies
Sixth graders convert English to Metric units. In this converting English to Metric units lesson, 6th graders convert a cookie recipe in English units to Metric units. Students write a letter to a pen pal in England where...
Beyond Benign
Daphnia Bioassay LD50
De-icing materials may have a harmful effect on our environment; have your class perform an experiment to test the nature of these effects. Scholars monitor the survival rate of a sample of daphnia as the concentration of a de-icing...
Curated OER
Mmm, Mmm, Mmm
Students identify the grapheme and phoneme for M. They practice writing the letter M and through listening activities, discriminate the phoneme /m/. They associate the phoneme /m/ with its letter representation and identify it in various...
Curated OER
Taking a Stand on Bullying
Middle schoolers stand up against bullying in a character-building lesson. After discussing historical figures who became advocates in times of adversity, they brainstorm ways to end bullying at their own school, and use a formal letter...
Curated OER
Veterans Day
First graders examine the history and significance of Veteran's Day. They discuss each of the military branches and how Veteran's Day was started, and write a thank you letter to a Veteran. Students copy the greeting and closing of the...
Curated OER
My Name Is Me!
Students write about themselves. In this personal writing lesson, students write their name vertically down a sheet of paper and think of a self descriptive word that matches each letter of their name. Students write a descriptive...
Curated OER
All About Me
Students create a collage from magazines, and the internet that is reflective of themselves and write a friendly letter via email to a pen pal. They take their letters through the writing process and write their final draft on Microsoft...
Curated OER
Bingo Brown and the Language of Love
Learners study credit and interest in a novel and consumer math activity. In this credit lesson, students read the book Bingo Brown and the Language of Love. Learners discuss the book and the ideas of credit, interest, and loans....
Curated OER
Belt-Abouts Lesson 4
Young scholars continue to examine the importance of wearing a seat belt. After identifying new vocabulary, they discuss the ways in which wearing a seat belt can better people's lives. They write a letter to the newspaper to state why...
Curated OER
A Visit to Charm City
Students explore U.S. geography by participating in a role-playing activity. In this Baltimore history lesson, students discuss the geography of Baltimore city and complete a worksheet which discusses the "charm" Baltimore is known for....
Curated OER
Persona
Pupils write three fictitious letters each on the same topic but to three different persons. They compare letters to decide how the voice of the writing changes depending on the person who is receiving the letter. They apply this...