Curated OER
Bumper Stickers: A Matter of Focus
Honk if you love bumper stickers! Long used as a persuasive tool, bumper stickers are used to launch this study of persuasive writing. Each class member is given a bumper sticker and asked to formulate three questions the strip might...
Curated OER
Scrapbook
Students, using photos as their inspiration, develop six personal narratives, then edit and revise them.
Curated OER
Lesson: Storyboarding Revolution
Kids consider revolution as a basis for creativity, art, and storytelling. After reading an excerpt from the book, Persepolis, learners choose one event from any world revolution to write about. They storyboard the event focusing on...
Curated OER
Migration: An African American Adventure
Learners read the book, The Great Migration by National Geographic, then complete this set of related worksheets. They review vocabulary, complete five short answer questions, discuss push and pull factors for the migration, then write a...
Curated OER
Heroes in Art
Learners examine the life, portraits and speeches of Frederick Douglass. They consider what made his speeches effective and why he is regarded as a national hero. They write an original speech.
Curated OER
Blogging to Create a Community of Writers: Lesson 2 of 6
Using this lesson plan on blogs, you can lead your class through the process of setting up a blog, writing a blog entry, editing their work, and more. There is a link to the blog site used, and attachments of blog entries.
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...
Curated OER
Create A Living Museum
Which famous people do you admire? Researchers explore the lives of famous people in state history by practice research skills, following step-by-step directions, writing a personal narrative, and participating in a role-play. They can...
Curated OER
The Living Museum: George Washington, the Slave Owner
Eighth graders bring early America to life. For this George Washington lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the first president, explore the relationships he had with his slaves, and research the backgrounds of some of his...
Curated OER
Cross-Cultural Dialogue Lesson
Students read and analyze a personal narrative written about a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in Guinea-Bissau, Africa. They discuss the concept of crossing cultures, analyze maps, complete worksheets, and develop a writing...
Curated OER
Cross-Cultural Dialogue Lesson
Use the Peace Corps to explore a different place and different perspectives. Your class reads the personal narrative "Cross-Cultural Dialogue" by Roz Wollmering, completing an attached story frame sheet in preparation for a class...
Stanford University
Voices of the Struggle: The Continual Struggle for Equality
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history. They then...
Curated OER
Story Pyramids
Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Commitment to Recovery
Recovery from substance addiction is an ongoing process. The final lesson plan in a series about painkiller abuse and addiction prompts learners to research various recovery options before writing a short story about a character who is...
Lakeshore Learning
Report Card Comments
Every teacher should keep this document handy when it comes time to writing report cards. It includes a plethora of ideas to look to for inspiration when commenting on student strengths and areas of improvement, behavior/attitude...
National Park Service
Lesson 2: Hope
There's hope in music. Pupils discover what gave enslaved people hope by examining lyrics and music during their time of bondage. A series of prompts helps individuals investigate songs of enslaved people. The cumulative assignment...
Curated OER
Writing About a Christmas Day Celebration
Students write about a Christmas Day Celebration they had with their family. In this creative writing lesson, students write stories in first person point of view about a personal experience they had with their families on Christmas Day....
Curated OER
Jeffrey and the Sloth
Students listen to the story Jeffrey and the Sloth and relate the story to how it feels to have writer's block. For this Jeffrey and the Sloth lesson, students use this book to inspire their creative writing process. Students create...
Curated OER
Project WRITE: Class Interview Book
Get your language arts class moving, build community, and strengthen writing skills with this kinesthetic activity. The class brainstorms interview questions from which each chooses three. Individuals then collect information about six...
Curated OER
Using Effective, Amusing Writing As a Model
Learners use the author's writing as a model to achieve vivid description and engaging humor in compositions of their own. They examine the ways a writer can capture and hold a reader's attention and write a short personal narrative...
Curated OER
Natural Disasters: Stormy Weather in Art, Writing, and Music
Using personal experience, visual art, and music that evoke natural disasters, your older high schoolers create their own expressions of storms. Learners conduct online research about weather drama. They make their own expressive...
Curated OER
Telling Stories in Art: Symbols of a Life
Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...
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.
Prestwick House
Introducing Symbols–The Beach
Looking for a way to introduce class members to the concept of symbolism and multiple levels of meaning? Readers examine two different passages about the beach and consider how the writers use concrete objects, and places to represent...