Curated OER
The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch
What a creative way to discuss adjectives in your classroom! Learners listen to a short story about a lighthouse keeper and his wife, identify adjectives, and write their own description about a sandwich. This is a wonderful and...
Curated OER
Lesson: A Spider's Perspective
A fun way to grow a class of creative thinkers, is to add creative projects to your weekly line up. Kids pretend they are small insects or spiders crawling up the side of a huge building. They use vivid imagery, rich detail, and their...
Curated OER
Pirate Adventure: Story Starter
In this creative writing worksheet, students first read a short story starter about a pirate adventure. Students finish the story on the lines provided.
Curated OER
Journal Writing-Pets
Students create a writing journal. In this journal writing instructional activity, students discuss what to write in a journal and why it is fun to keep a journal. Students start their journal by writing about a pet and use the entry to...
Curated OER
Writing the Letter "a"
In this handwriting worksheet, students practice writing the lowercase a. There is a short story to read and then 4 letters to trace.
Curated OER
Writing in Different Viewpoints
Students explore different viewpoints through short stories. In this literature instructional activity, students read a classic short story. Students then write a short story from a different point of view.
Curated OER
Writing A Summary
Middle schoolers read short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and write summaries. In this summary writing lesson, students discuss how to write a summary. Middle schoolers then select a topic and practice writing using skills discussed.
Curated OER
Writing a Query Letter
Students explore query letters. In this letter writing lesson, students plan a short story that they would like to write and then locate a magazine publisher that might be interested in the story. Students write a query letter.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Process of Reading
Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...
Curated OER
Penguin Writing
After discussing the main events in Mr. Popper’s Penguins, young writers describe in sequence what they would do if they had 12 penguins living in their house. The narratives are then glued onto a penguin cut-out, mounted on construction...
Curated OER
Telling A Story
In this ESL storytelling activity, students read ten questions about a story and invent their own answers. Students write the story and then complete 2 pages of questions about what they have written.
Curated OER
Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Students write a fantasy story about time traveling back to the time of the Oregon Trail. In this Oregon trail lesson students gather information from their Social Studies textbook about life during the time of the Oregon Trail.
Curated OER
Details and Observations IQ or the Eyes Have it
Fourth graders study Chaucer as a master of details. Then, they create a short story linking unrelated details into a logical plot with a clear setting and established characters. This lesson has some excellent worksheets attached!
Curated OER
Jeffrey and Sloth
Students listen to the story Jeffrey and Sloth and explore the six traits of writing. In this six traits of writing lesson, students practice doodling as a method of brainstorming ideas. Students then discover the importance of...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka
In this online interactive reading comprehension activity, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions about The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
Proofreading a Book Report and Story
In this proofreading a passage about the book Mutiny! and five short stories activity, students read the report and passages and answer questions to correct the grammatical errors. Students choose 21 multiple choice answers and click on...
Curated OER
Palace Adventure
Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...
Film English
Father and Son
Explore word relationships and the relationships between people with an interesting lesson plan. Learners practice pairing words that typically go together and write brief narratives using these words. They then go through a similar...
Curated OER
Understanding Protagonists and Antagonists
How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts worksheet. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a character map about a...
Prestwick House
Star Wars and the Hero's Journey
Is Luke Skywalker the archetype of a literary hero? Follow the path of the Hero's Journey with an engaging instructional activity that details the plot structure, applies it to Star Wars: A New Hope, and invites class members to choose...
Curated OER
New York English Language Arts Test: Grade 6
This comprehensive end-of-year language arts test requires that sixth-graders demonstrate their listening, writing, grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills. It includes 9 essay/short answer questions; however, the story, "A Winning...
Kenan Fellows
What Element Would You Be?
Primo Levi wrote a collection of short stories comparing his life from Italy to Auschwitz to elements in the periodic table. Pupils read an excerpt from his book and research the characteristics of various elements. Then, they make a...
Curated OER
Morality "Tails" East and West: European Fables and Buddhist Jataka Tales
Have your class explore Buddhist Jataka Tales to compare and contrast them to European fables. After defining fables, Jataka tales, and the elements of each, learners identify themes and patterns for both types of narratives and the...
Curated OER
Setting the Story: Techniques for Creating a Realistic Setting
“It was a dark and stormy night.” Thus begins the 1830's novel Paul Clifford and, of course, all of Snoopy’s novels! Encourage young writers to craft settings for their stories that go beyond Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s often-mocked phrase...