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...
K20 LEARN
Hooking Your Reader
Hook your class into inquiry-based, hands-on learning with a activity on narrative leads. Pupils research different types of hooks and decide which one to use in their own writing. Carefully scaffolded to include all learners, the...
British Council
Class Journals
Who are you? Scholars draw a shield on the front of their journals that includes four items with which they identify and discuss them with a partner. Readers then use topic suggestions from the board to write about themselves on the...
British Council
Love Poems
Language learners write down the words to a song as they listen to it. They then work in groups to write a love poem using the words and phrases they wrote from the song. As a culminating activity, scholars read their poems to the class.
Teaching Tolerance
Puppet Show
It's a play, it's a story, it's a puppet show! A lively resource provides academics with a creative outlet to express their views on diversity and social justice. Scholars are responsible for writing, creating, and performing a puppet...
Teaching Tolerance
Poetry and Storytelling Café
Academics take turns as actors in an engaging poetry cafe. Elementary learners work in small groups to create original poems or stories addressing community issues and read their work in front of a live audience. Scholars also reflect...
Teaching Tolerance
Picture Books
Aspiring artists and budding writers combine their skills in an interactive lesson. Young scholars become authors when they create their own picture books focused on social justice. The resource guides learners through the writing and...
EngageNY
The Performance Task: The Children’s Book—Final Draft
All good stories must come to an end. Writers review teacher feedback from their Children's Book Storyboards and make plans for revision. Next, they begin writing their final drafts and putting them together with their illustrations.
Teaching Tolerance
Buddy Share
Here's a project that gives academics the chance to share their opinions on social justice with storytelling, creative writing, or art. Scholars choose what they want to create and are assigned buddies to support their efforts. To...
Alabama Wildlife Federation
Water Words
Water is an interesting substance that all living things need to survive. Learners focus on the characteristics of water as they create a list of words related to water and then incorporate them into descriptive paragraphs. They then use...
PBS
Exploring the Drive to Create in Frankenstein
Is it hubris that drives the creative process? Is it the desire to be remembered long past death? An interactive asks readers of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Percy Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" to consider what this wife and...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
Pace University
Short Stories
A reading of Kevin Lamb's short story "Lost in the Woods" launches a study of how writers use elements such as foreshadowing, mood, character development, setting, and conflict to engage readers. Class members then demonstrate what they...
Pace University
Publishing Writing
Scholars become familiar with tagline literature with the help of the story, Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Terrible Day by Judith Viort. After a read-aloud and whole-class discussion, leveled groups complete several...
Poetry4kids
Creativity Exercise - Describe the Sky
Scholars stretch their writing muscles with an exercise that asks them to describe the sky using similes and metaphors.
Teachers & Writers Magazine
Persona Poetry and Mask-Making
Looking to engage scholars in poetry with hands-on activities? What better way than making masks? Readers analyze literary devices in poetry, examine Native American masks, create their own masks, and then write poems to tell its story!
Curated OER
30 Writing Prompts for National Poetry Month
A collection of writing prompts are so fun, you'll want to finish them yourself! Learners practice narrative prose and poetry skills with prompts that twist traditional structure, provide wild vocabulary, and encourage pupils to...
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Writing Myths
With this lesson plan students can examine creation myths, then write their own unique story. Provides plenty of links to more information, an assessment rubric, and thirteen extension ideas!
Cengage Learning
Houghton Mifflin: Project Based Learning Space
Houghton Mifflin has created a comprehensive resource for project-based learning. This site is full of ideas, explanations, projects, and more.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: All Together Now: Collaborations in Poetry Writing
Three learning activities to teach K-2 students about poetry. Very detailed lessons with references and other suggested activities. Ways to individualize and academic content standards are noted. (Attachment may not load in archived URL.)
Other
Glimmer Train Press: Writing Guidelines
Glimmer Train accepts entries from both published and upcoming writers, although there is a separate category for new writers. Deadlines and additional information are given at this site. (It would be wise to click on the Short-Story...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books
Need help planning ways to creatively teach your students chronological order? Here's a great place to start. While the site is specifically geared toward the middle school student, it is a teaching idea which could easily be adapted for...
Other
The World of Calli & Graphy
Young students will enjoy exploring the world of calligraphy with these colorful illustrations, and easy-to-follow explanations. Follow the story of "Calli and Graphy," as they teach the viewer about this ancient art form.