Curated OER
Scripting the Past: Exploring Women's History Through Film
Explore women's history through films and filmmaking. An innovative research project prompts class members to create their own screenplay about a figure in women's history. After outlining their characters, settings, and plots, young...
Children's Theatre of Cincinnati
A Charlie Brown Christmas Study Guide
Bring A Charlie Brown Christmas to social studies, language arts, math, science, and art class! Learners ponder the meaning of Christmas trees, write about Christmas during the original release of the television special, research holiday...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Biopoem
The characters in Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori are complex and vivid. Compare their characteristics with a biopoem, which prompts learners to complete a format with adjectives, relationships, and additional details that describe each...
Radford University
Real Life Parallels
There's no parallel to a great resource. Scholars take part in three lessons in which they investigate parallel lines in real-world situations. They search for and take pictures of parallel lines in and around the school, develop artwork...
Curated OER
Multiplication/Division Number Series
Expand mathematical thinking with these prompts for scholars to use writing as they approach math. First, they use the numbers 3, 5, and 15 in an original multiplication number story, followed by a related division story. Encourage...
Curated OER
Show The Movie!
Fifth graders deliver story presentations that establish a setting with descriptive words, contain a plot and show, rather than tell, what happens. In this language arts lesson plan, 5th graders utilize sentences from the book, "Tuck...
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: Grandmother's Cottage
This writing prompt provides students with an introduction paragraph about a trip to Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. Students can finish the story in a creative writing exercise. The prompt could be a good addition to a...
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: The Newest Reindeer
Students can finish the story of Pluto, the newest Reindeer, and his adventures at Rudolf's Reindeer Academy in this writing prompt. The prompt provides students with an introduction to the story and allows them to continue with details...
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: Collision
This writing prompt provides students with the introductory paragraph to a creative story about a sledding accident. Students can use the provided prompt, or they can choose to begin a similar story with their own ideas. They are also...
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: Mothers Day
In this writing prompt, students can continue the story of Prince Rosco, whose mother has gone away for Mother's Day. The prompt provides the introduction of the story, and students can choose how to continue and end the tale of Rosco....
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: Tired of the Snow
This writing prompt about Earl, the polar bear, who is tired of the snow, helps students complete the story by providing the first few sentences. The prompt also sets students up with the first conflict, which they can complete as they...
Curated OER
Printable Story Starter: Christmas Morning
A writing prompt about a surprise on Christmas morning provides students with the beginning of the story, and invites them to finish the middle and ending. This prompt could be a good addition to a Christmas-themed unit, or as a lesson...
Curated OER
Story Starters: Woodpeckers' Park
A great Earth Day and environment assignment, or even a basic creative writing lesson, this prompt helps students to begin the story of Woody and Woodruff, two woodpeckers who don't like litterers! Both a picture and an introduction can...
Curated OER
Easy Essays Step 2
Third graders write essays after participating in mini-lessons that encourage better writing. They write using the model of a skeleton to which they add the muscles.
Curated OER
25 Yeas From Now
In this writing worksheet, students are asked to write about the future in 25 years. Students are prompted to share their vision as to what the world will be like in this future time.
Curated OER
Story About a Picture
In this story prompt learning exercise, learners analyze a picture of a polka dotted airplane with the faces of five children at the windows. Students write a story about the picture.
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Virginia Department of Education
Identifying Audience and Purpose
Use a fun and creative activity to introduce junior high learners to how writing changes for different audiences and purposes. The activity begins with a reading by the instructor where teens visualize a food fight in the cafeteria. In...
National Park Service
Lesson 5: Coded Spirituals, Metaphor in African Spirituals
If a picture is worth a thousand words, song lyrics also can communicate many meanings. Using the lyrics of spirituals, young historians analyze them for coded messages about freedom. Resources include a chart to help individuals track...
Curated OER
Snowman in Winter Sequence Writing
Students develop a creative snowman using step-by-step stickers. They write a short story about the snowman they have created, explaining the sequence they used to create their snowman. Students present their completed story in front of...
Curated OER
School Day
Students participate in a lesson that involves writing a persuasive essay. They use the prompt of "extending the school day". The paper should contain correct elements of sentence structure with clear purpose that is supported with...
Curated OER
The Gingerbread Man
In this story writing worksheet, students read the story starter inside the shape of the gingerbread man and finish the story on the lines. The prompt reads, "If I were the Gingerbread Man, I would ..."
Curated OER
A Conventional Family
Students explore writing techniques by analyzing their own families. In this family values instructional activity, students view the film "The Incredibles" in class and discuss the different types of modern-day families. Students write...
Curated OER
2002: The Year In Review
Young scholars research and create a book highlighting significant events and trends throughout the world in the year 2002. Then, through creative writing, they respond to the events or trends themselves and how they affected our world.