Curated OER
Space Travel Stories
Young scholars engage in the writing of a story about space. They brainstorm in small groups to create ideas for original stories. Students use their imaginations to depict a scene that is part of the story. They could also use the...
Curated OER
Wish You Were Here
Students work in small groups to research information about planets in the solar system. They create picture postcards from space, drawing images they imagine they would see while traveling to a planet. They then write personal messages...
Curated OER
Roboteacher
Present this slide show to your class and see what they think. It's the story of Roboteacher, obviously written and perhaps illustrated by a student. It could be used to reinforce story boarding, story telling, story retell, or creative...
Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 2
To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.
Owl Teacher
Teach Ancient Rome!
Teaching the class about Ancient Rome can be fun for you and for them! Check out this incredible resource that has everything you need to bring ancient Roman civilization back to life. Begin by scrolling to the bottom of the page and...
Curated OER
Book Nook
A reading of Dr. Seuss's My Many Colored Days provides a great intro for a discussion of colors and how they can represent emotions and moods. Kids share the feelings they associate with various colors
Curated OER
Class Mascot
Students create their own tales to tell using a class mascot and their imaginations for inspiration. They each take turns bringing home the mascot and a notebook. In the notebook, they write their own tale about an adventure the mascot had.
Curated OER
Ecology: Trees
Fourth graders, while working in the classroom and the computer lab, utilizing supporting facts from previous lessons, write a creative story that imagines a world without forests. They write, type and print their stories and turn them...
Curated OER
Daily Language
In this Language Arts learning exercise, students correct a sentence, circle the adjectives in another sentence, and underline the main verb and circle the helping verb in another. Students also write an essay about how slavery is wrong.
Curated OER
Celebrating the Smithsonian's Birthday
Students examine online objects from the Smithsonian website and use them as subjects and inspiration for creative writing exercises.
Curated OER
Lessons Using the Science Fiction Genre
Students can practice "The Lost Art of Imagination" when they delve into the science fiction genre.
Curated OER
For Richer or for Poorer
Students read about one cross-class marriage and create scenes to dramatize interactions among the family members and consider how class shapes relationships. They imagine the issues faced by cross-class couples by writing a short story.
Curated OER
Human Evolution
Students recognize that achievements of human beings throughout human history can be considered part of the ongoing story of human evolution. They research settings such as the biosphere and Mars and write imaginative short stories using...
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A VIEW FROM THE TOP
Students explore the idea of aerial photography through the story of Amelia the Pigeon. They view an actual aerial photograph of their school or home, and then write a story describing what Amelia would see if she flew over their school...
Curated OER
Rome's Violent Past
Students discuss the role of public entertainment in ancient Rome. They imagine themselves as a participant at a gladiator games at the Roman Colosseum and write an personal account of the games.
Curated OER
Is That a Bird in Your Hat?
Second graders imagine they find an injured bird. They create a clay bird and nest to stimulate creative writing. The lesson includes an integrated week-long art, science, and writing activity.
Curated OER
Let's Make A Dill
Students perform an "autopsy" on a dill pickle to determine its' cause of death. After finding "clues" inside the "body," students organize facts and use their imagination to write an epitaph. As an alternative, students may view a...
Curated OER
A Visit to Aunt Louisa's
Fourth graders write a diary entry. In this journaling instructional activity students examine a 1880's primary source document. Students read about a young girl visiting her Aunt in rural Indiana. Students write about what they did in...
Curated OER
Our City
Second graders familiarize themselves with the town they live in by practicing their imagination, library research and writing skills.
Curated OER
A Snapshot Of Fame
Students debate the limits to celebrity privacy and to paparazzi rights after learning about some recent incidents. They imagine how their private lives might change if they became overnight celebrities.
Curated OER
Window of Words
Students imagine that they are looking out (or in) a window with four panes and write about what they see using a variety of sentence structures. They create a paragraph about what they see looking through their window on Thanksgiving day.
Curated OER
Carbon Trip Through the Cycle
Students, in any written format they choose, imagine themselves as a carbon atom and trace their journey through the carbon cycle returning themselves to the point of origin.
Curated OER
Modern Translation : Julius Caesar: B2
Young scholars, while being critiqued by a vigorous rubric, write, edit and perform a modern translation of Julius Caesar. All of the other students and the teacher watch the presentations and then critique them.
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Story Writng: To Kill a Mockingbird: B1
High schoolers are given the story To Kill a Mockingbird and a rubric before starting their writing project. They are aware of the guidelines that the teacher is using in order for students to obtain their passing grade.