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Using Imagery
Show, don't tell! Pairs work together to change a list of telling sentences into showing sentences using picture words that create vivid pictures in the readers’ minds.
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Descriptive Prompt: Precise Language
Incorporate sensory details into a piece of descriptive writing. First, elementary and middle schoolers improve a piece of writing by using precise, vivid language, as well as appropriate word choice. They then listen to a variety of...
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Revising Writing: Plain English
Eschew obfuscation! Using dictionaries, writers revise a complicated text so that it reads more simply and improves the clarity of the passage. Focusing on word meanings, they revise the sample worksheets and then present their...
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The Sounds of Daydream
Based on the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, this resource is well constructed and guides learners through examining the Yeats poem (rhyme, meter, content) to composing a poem of their own about a...
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Grab Your Reader: Great Leads
Get your readers' attention with this Six Traits of Writing lesson plan. First, young writers draft ideas in an organized manner utilizing words, sentences, and multiple paragraphs. They also use voice to fit the purpose and audience and...
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Rest in Peace, Maniac Magee
Scholars read Maniac Magee and create epitaphs for each of the major characters using precise words reflecting the individual characters personality and nature. They will learn what an epitaph is and practice writing their own. They can...
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Narratives
Add to the narrative writing experience. Elementary or middle school writers listen to the teacher read a descriptive passage, then reread the same passage silently. They highlight sensory details and figurative language, then orally...
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Dead Word Wall Lesson
Help your writers eliminate "dead words" (words that are overused) from their writing. This instructional activity includes a SMART board presentation that will guide them through identifying, eliminating, and substituting "dead words"...
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Sparkle Words
Students are introduced to "sparkle words," which are really adjectives! They consider ten sentences which have a word missing, and choose the best of the three sparkle words on the slide to complete the sentence. A nice, motivating...
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Word Choice
Although this presentation does not have a clear purpose, it could be used as a reading, vocabulary, or poetry exploration. The presentation focuses on three poems, one of them by Edgar Allan Poe. Furthermore, it could be used as a...
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Thesaurus Forage
Looking for a game that teaches students about how to use a thesaurus, and reinforces the concept of synonyms? Each player will have the opportunity to use their "tools" in this engaging lesson. They will use their thesauruses in order...
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Author's Voice in Passage
Students explore author's voice. In this literary elements and reading comprehension lesson, students listen to two poems about snakes (included) and identify adjectives and other descriptive words and phrases that help them determine...
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Descriptive writing
Fourth graders practice writing with description. In this descriptive lesson, 4th graders see the results of a task when the directions are not clear. They come up with descriptive words and write their own instructions.
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Language Arts, Word Choice
Third graders practice replacing words in a sentence to make it more interesting. In this word choice lesson, 3rd graders listen to the story The Hard-Times Jar by Ethel Smothers and discuss the author's word choice. Students then...
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Big Bushy Mustache: comprehension skills
In this comprehension skills worksheet, students read the book Big Bushy Mustache and complete comprehension activities. Students complete 5 activities including note taking, making inferences, fiction and non fiction, drawing...
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Resume Writing for Teens 9-12
Students create their own resumes. In this vocational-education lesson plan, students study the purpose of resumes and what is typically included on such a document. Then students follow a template to create their own resume. Business...
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Polar Bear Literacy Activity
Students generate vocabulary words synonymous or related to "noise." In this literacy lesson, students listen to the book Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle and discuss the meaning of vocabulary words...
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Shades of Meaning
Learners use words with similar meanings to analyze implied meanings. In this word connotation lesson, the teacher introduces the activity by asking students whether a new product should be advertised as "newfangled" or "cutting-edge." ...
Chomp Chomp
Word Choice - Exercise 12: To, Too, and Two
A twenty-question worksheet provides practice using the commonly confused to, too, and two. Meet Common Core standards with the help of this resource in your fourth grade classroom. Use as homework or an assessment.
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Don't Say...
In this word choice worksheet set, students review a worksheet that shows how to replace the word "said" with less used words. They work in pairs to complete a second page on which they list synonyms for an overused word that is assigned...
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Skippyjon Jones Lesson Plan
Students meet an imaginative Siamese kitten pretends to be a Chihuahua when he is in time-out. In this Skippyjon Jones lesson plan, students develop an understanding of different cultures. They understand different dialects and...
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Wordiness Worksheet 1
In this grammar activity, students rewrite ten sentences eliminating extra words and combining short sentences into longer ones when necessary.
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Irregular Verbs Worksheet 1
In this grammar worksheet, students read two paragraph passages, underline the irregular verbs in each one and write the correct form of the verb right above the incorrect one.
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Using Word Referents
Students edit an existing piece of writing focusing of improving word choice. They create lists of words that can be used in place of the main topic and rewrite the piece using the new vocabulary.