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Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Puppet Show

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magical Creatures Land

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Compare and Contrast Nonfiction Texts

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Explore nonfiction writing by comparing and contrasting two different texts. After reading two nonfiction books, articles, or magazines, students utilize a graphic organizer to record their similarities and differences. They answer study...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Importance Setting and Mood in Fiction

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the setting in pieces of fiction.  In this story analysis lesson, 7th graders investigate the setting in fictional stories and the importance it has.  Students discover new vocabulary terms applying to storytelling.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Fiction: Analyzing Sentences

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate sentence construction in fiction.  In this sentence construction lesson, students examine examples of fiction work and discover why sentences are a certain length.  Students create their own passages playing with...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bug's Eye View

For Teachers K - 5th
Pupils explore biology by writing fictitious stories in class. In this insect life lesson, students identify many different types of insects in the animal kingdom and the classifications they fall into. Pupils collect insects on a field...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students write a fantasy story about time traveling back to the time of the Oregon Trail. In this Oregon trail lesson students gather information from their Social Studies textbook about life during the time of the Oregon Trail.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elements of Fiction

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Learners investigate themes and settings in their favorite fiction stories.  In this creative writing lesson plan, students discuss the reasons a fictional story works well and discuss ways to create their own.  Learners create their own...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Fantasy Fiction

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students investigate storytelling elements by writing their own fiction stories.  In this creative writing lesson, students listen as the teacher reads a fictional story.  Students analyze the lack of rules in the story and create their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning to Analyze Characters

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters.  In this character writing instructional activity, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Writing Fiction

For Students 4th - 5th
In this story-writing worksheet, students complete 20 blanks in two different graphic organizers. Each graphic organizer guides students through creating interesting story characters. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fact or Fantasy Writing

For Teachers 1st
First graders see that some written text is for pleasure and enjoyment while some is for relaying information. They get to experience both types during the lesson. They brainstorm ideas for a story about a new kid in school to write about.
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eBook
Other

Barbara Greenwood's Guide to Writing for Children [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Barbara Greenwood, a Canadian author of numerous historical fiction books for children, has written this thirty-page writing guide where she explains the process she goes through in constructing a story. She covers such key topics as...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Blending Fiction and Nonfiction

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Contains plans for four class periods that ask students to blend narrative and expository writing after reading fiction and nonfiction selections. In addition to student objectives and standards, these instructional plans contains links...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Leading to Great Places in the Classroom

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
We all know that the most effective way to teach reading is to start with reading. This lesson uses that approach with writing story leads.
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Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Cinderella Stories From Around the World

For Teachers 5th Standards
In this lesson plan, 5th graders will compare and contrast different versions of the fairy tale "Cinderella." Students will use a compare and contrast chart chart. After the shared readings, students will use all the elements of a fairy...
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Unit Plan
Department of Defense

Do Dea: Story, Identity, Unity

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Delve into the art of storytelling in this self-guided unit. Multiple topics are covered such as literary genres, the 7 elements of fiction, figurative language, theme, characterization, etc. At the end of the unit, write your own flash...
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Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Create a Book (Grade 3 6)

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Young scholars will illustrate and write their own story.
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eBook
NWT Literacy Council

Nwt Literacy Council: How to Kit: Writing and Publishing Children's Books! [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 8th Standards
Instructions on how to create and publish a children's book in the classroom or as a community literacy endeavour are provided. The NWT Literacy Council offers bursaries for these projects. It tells of a Grade 3 professionally published...
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Handout
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University

Purdue University Owl: Fiction Writing Basics

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This resource discusses some terms and techniques that are useful to the beginning and intermediate fiction writer, and to instructors who are teaching fiction at these levels. W.11-12.3a Narratives
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Lesson Plan
University of Oregon

Pizzaz, Creative Writing & Storytelling: Creative Writing via Basket Stories

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
This PIZZAZ (People Interested in Zippy and ZAny Zcribbling) lesson plan will engage young scholars in creative writing about items found in a basket. Examples of creative writing are provided. Examples of springboard ideas are included.
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Lesson Plan
University of Oregon

Pizzaz, Creative Writing & Storytelling: Chain Stories

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
This PIZZAZ (People Interested in Zippy and ZAny Zcribbling) lesson plan will engage students in writing chain stories. A variation of the lesson is provided as an extension during the publishing phase of writing.
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Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: Adventurous Magic

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This writing activity is inspired by Bruce Coville's Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, and students will be asked to write about an original magical object that they have discovered in the "Elives' Magic Supplies," just as Jeremy does in...