Curated OER
Creating Characters
Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the methods of...
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Greek Inquiry Report and Presentation
Sixth graders choose from a list of researchable inquiry questions. They engage in all phases of inquiry/research process.
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Five Paragraph Essay
Eighth graders are introduced to the mechanics of writing a standard-form essay. They draft, edit and polish a five-paragraph essay about spending the day as an animal of their choice.
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"Write-a-Letter-to-the-Teacher" Book Report
Learners practice writing a friendly letter to the teacher as a method of reviewing a book. They write a three paragraph report on a book that they read in friendly letter format.
Curated OER
Writing a Letter to Johnny Appleseed
Third graders write a letter to Johnny Appleseed describing how they use technology in their daily life and the advantages and disadvantages of using technology.
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Pre-Reading Preparation
Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research lesson, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in groups to research them.
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Picture It-Robot Writing!
Fifth graders use their listening skills to sketch draft pictures of robots described in paragraphs read by their teacher. They transfer their robot sketches to word processing documents using software drawing tools.
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Descriptive Paragraphs
Third graders gain the necessary skills to write a descriptive paragraph. They see the evaluation and decision making process that are used in good wriitng. The bible is used to see illustrations and then used to paint a picture in...
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Writing and Sharing Community Stories
Students use interviewing skills to explore and express the culture of their community. In this literacy/writing lesson, students interview a community member as a basis for a biographical writing project. Each class member contributes a...
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Creative Writing/Historical Journals
Students write series of journal entries, from the perspective of an immigrant traveling to America via Ellis Island.
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Writing Up a Spanish Storm: Using Creative Thinking for Creative Writing
Students in a Spanish class are introduced to the techniques of creative writing. In groups, they focus on the pre-writing section of creative writing and keep a folder of their works throughout the lesson. They end the lessons by...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Writing Skills Development
Students improve writing skills by expanding their self-perceptions. Next, they develop idea lists for writing topics. Their ideas become the basis for a class newspaper. following the creation of a group composition, students write...
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Lead Me On - Writing Lively Leads for Book Reviews
Third graders use the concepts found in a PowerPoint presentation, and write leads for book reviews that attract readers and stimulate book interest. They are graded on their ability to engage the reader with their writing.
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Freewriting: Exploring Everybody's Favorite Topic
Students engage in the practice of freewriting to improve expressing written thoughts. Then the process of editing takes place to solidify the practice of the writing process.
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Beanie Baby Biographies
Learners write a biography for their favorite Beanie Babies and then share their biography out loud. A simple, yet effective idea! Everyone loves their Beanie Baby!
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Indian Story Bag
Students use an object to tell an interesting story from their lives. They write and present a short story about an interesting episode from their life and gather objects in a story bag, which illustrates their story to the class.
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Publishing: A Persuasive Essay
Third graders are given an opportunity to create a visual to accompany their presentations of their persuasive essays. They may use the computer or other media as resources.
Poetry Society
Simile and Metaphor
Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.
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The Mummification Process
Sixth graders investigate the steps of mummification. In this ancient Egypt lesson, 6th graders listen to a SMART Board aided lecture to view how mummification works as well as the meaning behind the ritual. Students then complete a...
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Halloween Tales
At the beginning of this Halloween instructional activity, learners generate a list of spooky characters and words that they will use when creating their original stories. Teams of 3-4 members create the stories together. The...
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Book Club Order
Students complete a simulated book order form for their class. In this book club lesson, students budget and plan an order form for their fellow students, discussing why they chose specific books.
Illustrative Mathematics
Miles to Kilometers
Can your mathematicians come up with an easy way to convert miles to kilometers? Start by asking learners to write an algebraic expression for each of the descriptions given. Once they determine that they are both the same, ask...
NASA
The Search for Critical Questions
A puzzle isn't about the individual pieces, but how they work together. Scholars assemble a puzzle and discover missing pieces. They write a description of what they expect these pieces to look like, including as many details as...
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Digital Storytelling
Scholars of all ages can use the various tools of technology to construct and illustrate a story. Utilizing this resource, learners work with a partner to brainstorm and draft a story based on personal experience. They use computer...