Curated OER
The World Around Me
Combining visual and language arts, here is a resource that prompts middle schoolers to write stories based on pictures of their surroundings. They use digital cameras to take pictures of favorite areas in the school. Next, they choose...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 7: The Elements of Story
Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...
Curated OER
Decoding the First Alphabets: Not as Simple as A, B, C
Explore early writing systems and their significance in understanding the development of past civilizations. In groups, learners research early writing systems and then present their findings to the rest of the class. They teach their...
Curated OER
Revive, Contemplate, Integrate
Students recognize flags as a symbol through writing and imagery. In this artifact lesson plan, students investigate Tibetan prayer flags and their significance. Students create personal prayer flags and write about their life experience...
Curated OER
"Take my Advice": Poems with a Voice
Discuss the meaning of the phrase tone of voice with the class. They respond to a variety of scenarios where a particular tone would be prevalent. They then read "Mother to Son" without knowing the title and answer some questions about...
Global Oneness Project
What Does it Mean to Be Resilient?
Imagine the determination it would take to build a helicopter out of scrap. Now imagine doing it while hindered by the effects of polio. Everything is Incredible, a short film by Tyler Bastian, introduces Agustin who has been working on...
Curated OER
Trek Across America
Bring a time machine into your classroom with this writing lesson plan, in which young writers project themselves back in time and have a variety of choices from that point forward. They either write a conversation with a historical...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
A Lifetime of Responsibilities: Child Labor in Alabama
Imagine children working long hours in factories, coal mines, and in the fields. Class members examine a series of pictures and read about early attempts to regulate child labor and current child labor laws.
Curated OER
Metallic Galactic Mobile
Students create 3-dimensional models of their own imaginary galaxies of newly discovered planets. They write fictional accounts of their experiences visiting each new planet. Students writing includes a recognizable beginning, middle,...
Curated OER
Writing Learning Logs
Students read a book about Abraham Lincoln. Using a log, they write factual information from the book. As a class, they discuss what they believe childhood was like in the middle to late 1800s. They fill out a KWL chart before beginning...
Global Oneness Project
Documenting Architectural Heritage
Imagine going from being one of the richest, most important cities in the world to one of the poorest. Imagine the history captured in the architecture of such a city. Imagine these same now abandoned buildings being destroyed. How would...
Curated OER
How Do Authors Use Imagery to Shape Their Writing?
Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their own...
EngageNY
Blending Informative and Narrative Writing: Transforming Research Notes into Field Journal Entries
The fabulous four. Scholars learn the four key components for creating an excellent journal entry. They then work to create a journal entry rubric and participate in a mini lesson about organizing and outlining journal entries.
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss Author Study
Students listen to a story, then use the same format to write a class book.
Curated OER
Lesson: I Am the Wall
The Maya created amazing stone carvings and sculptures, but what were they for? Kids analyze the significance and purpose of a Maya stela and then write a creative piece. They imagine they are the stela, and write a story about what life...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Breaking the Rules
Breaking the rules isn't always a bad thing, sometimes it pushes the boundaries of the imagination. Young art enthusiasts examine the Kevin Red Star piece, Knows Her Medicine Crow Indian. They analyze how the artist broke rules during...
Curated OER
Imaginative Winter Stories
Third graders write, type, and print imaginative stories about any phase of winter.
Curated OER
Flight of the Imagination
Students study the success of video games by reading an online article. They work in groups to design settings, storylines, characters and technical features for their own fantasy video games. Finally, they write scripts for previews of...
Curated OER
Controlled Narrative Writing
Young scholars add details to their narratives. In this narrative writing instructional activity, students look at a simple four sentence narrative and add adjectives and adverbs to make it more descriptive. They do this activity whole...
Curated OER
Yakety-Yak
Do talk back! The transcript of one side of a telephone conversation launches a study of dialogue. Class members imagine the response of the speaker on the other side of the conversation and record these responses on the provided...
Curated OER
Blogging To Create A Community of Writers # 5 of 7
Here is instructional activity 5 from a 7 instructional activity unit on using blogging to create a community of writers. The aim of this instructional activity is to get students writing about what Archaeologists do and how they use...
Curated OER
Living The Life of a Scribe
Students write a descriptive letter about life in ancient Mesopotamia. Through video streaming, students discover the history of Mesopotamia. They assume the role of a scribe and compose a three paragraph essay using main ideas and...
Curated OER
Vivid Verbs
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
Curated OER
"I Spy": Using Adjectives and Descriptive Phrases
Students define adjectives and use adjectives and descriptive phrases to write a descriptive paragraph. They write a description of a sensory item, and read and discuss a five senses chart. Students then complete a chart using adjectives...