Curated OER
Create - A - Story
Apply the elements of a story to create an original story. They select a character, setting, and plot out of a bag, and write an original story tying the three story elements together.
Curated OER
Biopoem: Bud, Not Buddy
Young poets focus on one character from a story they are reading, collect details, and use a biopoem template to analyze this character. The activity can be used with any text.
Curated OER
Defining Success
The class defines what it means to be successful by examining the achievements of Rich Wilson. They create headlines for a mock paper, discuss achieving personal goals, and create a scrapbook of his journey. Tip: Use this resource when...
Curated OER
Original Children's Books
Bring the fun and creativity of children's stories to your language arts class. Middle schoolers write, revise, and publish an original student book which incorporates the elements of a short story. They put their story in the form of a...
Curated OER
Mystery Lessons
Learn about mysteries with your readers. They will investigate plot, basic elements of mystery, famous characters, and become familiar with genre vocabulary. Bring in props and mystery books to begin and then have learners create story...
abcteach
Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
Looking for materials to accompany your study of Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes? Look no further! Included here is everything you need to go alongside your unit: worksheets, graphic organizers, writing assignments, an assessment,...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Heroes
Three creative activities follow reading a fiction and nonfiction book about heroes. Scholars build hero action figures out of clay for make-believe play, explain in written form how they show bravery, kindness, patience, thoughtfulness,...
Curated OER
Jeffrey and the Sloth
Learners listen to the story Jeffrey and the Sloth and relate the story to how it feels to have writer's block. In this Jeffrey and the Sloth lesson, students use this book to inspire their creative writing process. Learners create their...
Curated OER
Writing a Character Description
Invoke creativity by using this resource on writing techniques. Learners create a description of a character they could use in their writing, focusing on the proper use of adjectives, similes, and metaphors. It's a great presentation for...
Curated OER
The News Behind the Story
What a fun way to analyze plot, setting, and character. Learners review story elements, read a short fictional story, then turn the events of that story into a headlining news paper article. Not only does this instructional activity...
Curated OER
Meet Hannah the Weaver
Students analyze primary and secondary sources to explore slavery and emancipation, and write letter or diary entry from point of view of slave Hannah Harris or plantation owner Robert Carter. Students then dramatize their creative...
Digital Writing and Research Lab's – Lesson Plans
Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision
This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...
Curated OER
Teaching Descriptive Word Usage
Second graders practice their creative writing by using descriptive words. In this language arts lesson, 2nd graders utilize their best descriptive writing to elaborate on one of 20 different bean bag characters. Students...
Curated OER
Creative Writing - Poetry Project
Students, after following step by step instructions/guidelines, contract to make a particular grade on a poetry project. They purpose of this project is to complete a collection of poetry using a variety of techniques studied in class,...
EngageNY
Close Reading of Thank You, Mr. Falker: Identifying the Superpowers of Reading
Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...
Roald Dahl
The BFG Lesson Plans
A 55-page unit examines the novel, The BFG, by Roald Dahl. Six lessons pay close attention to friendship, dreams, and believing themes while analyzing interesting characters, writing creative vocabulary, smilies, metaphors, an exciting...
EngageNY
Launching Readers Theater Groups: Identifying Passages from Esperanza Rising for Readers Theater that Connect to the UDHR
Teach young readers how to compare two texts and select passages that exemplify a specific theme with Lesson 6 from Unit 3. Begin by modeling how an expert reader selects examples from a text, performing a think aloud on how Article 2 of...
Curated OER
Writing From Mythological Narratives
Students compose a short piece of creative writing based on a painting depicting a mythological narrative. In this creative writing lesson, students create a short piece of writing and then learn more about the mythological scene in the...
Curated OER
Wagons West
Students assume the personality of a pioneer on a wagon train and create daily journals. In this journal writing lesson, students read excerpts from The Way West: Journal of a Pioneer Woman. Students use their...
Curated OER
Humorous Story Featuring Clowns
Students write stories that feature funny clowns. In this creative writing lesson, students follow the outline for a story in order to write their own humorous story set at a circus.
Curated OER
Activity Plan 5-6: Book-Character Homes
Learners use their creativity to build character homes. In this early childhood lesson plan, students develop creative-thinking, social, language, math, and motor skills as they work together to create buildings for characters from...
Ed Galaxy
Postcard Template
Wish you were here! Have kids express their salutations and warm wishes with postcards. The worksheet provides two postcard templates for kids to address, sign, and illustrate.
Novelinks
The Tempest: A-Z Book Project
Create a picture dictionary for one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays. After readers finish The Tempest, they assign each letter of the alphabet to a concept or character, and add a description and evidence from...
Waunakee Community School District
Identifying Themes in Literature
If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward worksheet to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character, plot, point...