Revising and editing are essential parts of the writing process. This lesson introduces students to a peer revising/editing protocol. Using a three-step peer-editing, students learn a process that consists of compliments, suggestions, and corrections. They begin by practicing the techniques on sample student writing and viewing a PowerPoint tutorial to help reinforce the process. Once comfortable with the process, students use their knowledge to create a peer-editing assessment tool. This lesson works well within a writing workshop model or as a scaffolded lesson. (author/ncl)

In this mini-lesson, students learn to use more vivid and descriptive language in their writing by exploring the use of dialogue tags such as “he said” or “she answered” in picture books and novels. Students discuss the purpose, form, and style of dialogue. Following the mini-lesson, students work collaboratively to revise a passage from a novel to add more variety to the tags, and then apply the text structure to stories that they have written. (author/ncl)

This introductory lesson in essay writing supports students in learning to use a compare/contrast structure in their writing. Teachers begin by modeling, inviting students to contribute ideas to the essay. Teachers also show students how to incorporate new ideas and make revisions think using a word processing program. Students begin to explore the techniques that writers use, such as rearranging or clarifying words or sentences. Students then apply the techniques by writing drafts independently. (author/ncl)

This lesson features methods in which students learn strategies for developing strong characters in their own writing. Students are guided through a series of pre-writing activities as they complete a character sketch. After reading and analyzing a narrative text, students apply techniques used by authors to their own writing. This lesson uses a variety of instructional approaches, including teacher demonstrations, small group collaboration, and peer conferencing. Many links to related resources, suggestions for extension activities, and ideas for assessment are available at the website. (Author/ncl)

In this lesson, students explore the elements of fables. Links are provided to websites featuring wide collections of fables. Students first select a fable to update using a modern setting. Suggestions are supplied for each stage of the writing process. Next, they select from a list of morals and using the writing process, write original fables for them. For sharing their fables, students work in small groups to perform them as skits. This lesson provides an opportunity to reinforce students' understanding of literary elements and narrative writing. (author/sec)

Persuasive writing is an important skill, but writing an argument can seem intimidating to elementary students. This lesson introduces persuasive writing techniques through a variety of engaging, interactive activities. Students analyze persuasive pieces of writing, learn some of the terminology associated with persuasive writing, and identify examples of persuasion found in various print media. Once students become aware of the techniques used in oral arguments, they then apply them to independent persuasive writing activities. Supplemental materials, including a rubric, PowerPoint presentation, and links to additional online resources, are also available at the website. (author/ncl)

This lesson introduces students to a wide world of writing by inviting people into the classroom to talk about what, why, and how they write in their day-to-day lives. Students then reflect on how these varying purposes and processes can apply to their own lives. The lesson can help students see that writing matters in real life for real people and presents an opportunity to involve parents and community members. It is adaptable for use in middle school as well. (author/sec)

How does a seed of an idea become a story? The focus of this resource is on understanding and applying the story elements of plot, setting, and character in original narratives. Students begin by reading a short story, then analyzing the structure and development of the story. After generating a number of "what if" ideas for narratives, students work in small groups to develop their own story lines. This series of lessons is written to span four days, but may be easily integrated into a variety of teaching formats. (author/ncl)

A strong plot is a basic requirement of any narrative. Students are sometimes confused, however, by the difference between a series of events that happen in a story and the plot elements, or the events that are significant to the story. This lesson uses comic strip frames to define plot and reinforce the structure that underlies a narrative, as students write their own original narratives. The lesson uses a version of "The Three Little Pigs" fairy tale to examine plot structure; however, any picture book with a strong plot would work for this lesson. (author/ncl)

Maintained by the National Endowment for the Humanities, this interdisciplinary unit, centered around the Oregon Trail, lets students synthesize historical data through creative writing. The activities allow students to compare imagined travel experiences of their own with the actual experiences of 19th-century pioneers. After writing stories about contemporary cross-country journeys, students learn about the experiences of the emigrants who traveled on the Oregon Trail. They then create works of historical fiction in the form of picture books or letters, drawing upon the information they have learned. (author/ncl)

In this lesson, students explore the common elements of various types of folktales (e.g. tall tales, fairy tales, animal tales). A link to an award-winning website containing retellings of American folktales provides numerous examples. Students then choose one type and write an original folktale using the writing process. For publishing,  they illustrate their tales and create storybooks. This lesson provides an opportunity to reinforce students' understanding of literary elements and narrative writing. (author/sec)

Reading biographies and autobiographies is an important part of many reading programs. In this lesson, students build upon their knowledge about the content and structure of biographies to write their own autobiographical incidents. Students begin by reading a variety of autobiographies and biographies. Prior to writing, students analyze the biographical texts for organization and content. Following the steps of the writing process, this lessons offers ideas to support students at all phases of their writing. A detailed rubric provides guidance for students as they begin to write their own pieces. (Author/ncl)

This resource uses fairy tales to teach the literary features and story structure commonly found in narrative texts. This instructional unit, maintained by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, provides opportunities for students to read a variety of fairy tales and create original stories following the structure and conventions of narrative texts. Assessment guidelines and links to related websites are also provided. (author/ncl)

Art defines culture. In this lesson students gain understanding of the Greek culture through creating and painting mythological characters and by studying Greek mythology.  They will learn to better analyze, create, and critique through the use of the visual arts. The class reads the Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire, then they discuss the various attributes of the archetypal characters. The class uses the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greek and Roman website to view pictures and discuss what they might represent. Research is then done in small groups using a variety of resources including the Internet. Finally students are asked to create their own mythological character and use both creative writing and a watercolor art project to represent that character. This lesson integrates language arts, the visual arts, and social studies.  Ideas for assessment are included. (author/jlkrause)

This lesson uses text sets (paired fiction and nonfiction texts on a similar content area topic) to increase student understanding of a content area subject and also develop writing skills.  The lesson begins by using a KWL chart to establish what the students know and also generate questions about the topic.  Narrative fiction is introduced first to stimulate interest.  Next the nonfiction text is introduced.  By reading both the fiction and nonfiction texts, the students should be able to answer questions and fill in details of what they have learned on the KWL chart. Genre elements of narrative and expository texts are then discussed and examples of texts that blend both elements (such as the Magic School Bus series) are examined. Students then write and share their own narrative story that includes expository information. Students are encouraged to choose from a variety of formats for creating and sharing their independent writing.  Links are provided that offer teachers additional strategies and resources for blending fact and fiction.  (author/jlkrause) 

The lead of a story is the beginning, and yet it can be the end if the reader is not engaged. In this lesson, students examine examples of leads from a selection of children's literature. Paying attention to elements such as setting, action, character, reflection, event, and dialogue, students rate the opening lines from books then discuss the characteristics and strengths of each. As a follow-up activity, students work in pairs to generate different leads. Finally, students  complete the reading writing connection by writing or revising a lead in one of their one pieces of writing. Presented as an anchor lesson, the ideas presented may be adapted for a minilesson on writing effective leads or as a strategy lesson for revising stories. (author/ncl)

This lesson uses trading cards of fictional characters to support students' literacy development in writing narrative texts. Students begin by exploring popular picture books, noting how authors develop the characters in these stories. Through teacher modeling and guided practice, students learn how characters are described and developed. Using an online Character Trading Cards tool, students create their own character and plan its development. An extension for this lesson is to have students use their online character cards to write their own stories. Teachers should make sure that students have an understanding of story structure prior to completing this lesson. (author/ncl)

Reading biographies and autobiographies is an important part of many reading programs. In this lesson, students build upon their knowledge about the content and structure of biographies to write their own autobiographical incidents. Students begin by reading a variety of autobiographies and biographies. Prior to writing, students analyze the biographical texts for organization and content. Following the steps of the writing process, this lessons offers ideas to support students at all phases of their writing. A detailed rubric provides guidance for students as they begin to write their own pieces. (Author/ncl)

Designated a promising practice, this literature-based unit uses a variety of trickster tales found in folktales and modern stories to teach story analysis and written response. This instructional unit allows students to analyze and compare stories and create their own trickster tale. Assessment guidelines and links to related websites are also provided. (author/ncl)

During a novel study, students closely examine the different characters in the text by keeping journal entries, meeting for group discussions, and using graphic organizers. This extensive character examination is designed to help them to prepare a final project that involves creating an interview-style television show. Using their notes and information from the text, students write a script and assume the roles of the television host and the characters on the show. Questions about events from the novel are composed and responded to based on students' knowledge of the characters' personality traits and actions. This lesson may be adapted for use with many novels. (author/ncl)

In this lesson, a descriptive passage from a piece of prose is used to create a found poem. Students may then use found poems for models in writing parallel poems. By completing these activities, students develop an understanding of descriptive writing and learn how to recast prose as poetry. The lesson provides a detailed set of directions for teachers and links to related resources. Although the emphasis of this lesson is on descriptive language, the process may be adapted to fit many aspects of literary analysis and response. Examples of found poems and parallel poems are available at the web site. (Author/ncl)

This lesson explores the meaning of a personal narrative "'Magic' Pablo," written by a Peace Corps volunteer about his experiences in rural Guatemala. "'Magic' Pablo" is a true story about imagination, determination, and cross-cultural friendship. Accompanying this memoir are four lessons designed to encourage discussion and allow students to see the connections between Pablo's experiences and their own lives. These lessons combine whole group discussions, small group activities, and individual assignments to reinforce students' use and understanding of key reading comprehension strategies. (author/ncl)

This best practice site, a letter writing lesson, uses postcards to explore features and conventions of written communication. Set in the context of writing workshop, this resource encourages students to draw upon their background knowledge and prior experiences during writing tasks. Assessment guidelines and links to related websites are also provided. (author/ncl)

This activity uses literature and shared writing to teach letter-writing format and promote authentic letter writing. Students listen to and talk about stories dealing with correspondence, then participate in a collaborative, whole-group letter-writing activity. They go on to write their own letters to deliver or mail to adult school helpers, family, or friends. This introductory lesson requires two sessions, but teachers will need to plan opportunities for students to initiate and maintain ongoing correspondence. (author/ncl)

This resource, maintained by the National Endowment for the Humanities, provides letter writing ideas based on ten historical letters that are used as a context for authentic letter writing. Through a series of activities, students read, discuss, and respond to a variety of letters written by famous and ordinary citizens, some of whom lived during extraordinary times. The letters serve as a starting point for a discussion of and practice in the conventions and purposes of letter writing. The site provides access to the historical documents through links to other websites. Detailed directions are given to help users locate specific letters. Links and recommendations for extending the use of historical letters as an instructional resource are also listed. (author/ncl)

It is often difficult to create authentic contexts for classroom reading and writing assignments. Integrating a letter-exchange program in a writing workshop format, helps to motivate students and build excitement about literacy learning. This lesson helps teachers to select e-pals for students and develop real-life writing and learning experiences. Students learn the format of a friendly letter and the parts of an e-mail message. With careful selection of an e-pal group, students can also learn about other cultures, languages, and geographic areas. (author/ncl)

In this unit, students will explore the genre of memoir and discover how writers write about the ordinary happenings of their lives. Each lesson centers on one topic (e.g., a treasured object, photographs) and engages students with rich examples from poetry, picture books, novels, and memoirs. Lists of recommended texts are included. "Exploring activities" follow, providing opportunities for oral communication, reading, and writing in a variety of modes. Students keep a writing folder as they discover that their own lives are packed with meaningful experiences and memories. (author/sec)

Letter poems, where communicating a message is central, make poetry accessible, meaningful, and fun for children. Letter poems are also a good medium for exploring a defining characteristic of poetry--line breaks. As students work to transform narrative-style letters into poetic format, they are encouraged think carefully about where to end each line. In this lesson, students explore various letter poems and experiment with writing letters as poems, paying special attention to why the lines are broken where they are and how line breaks affect rhythm, sound, meaning, and appearance. Comparing the characteristics of traditional letters to letter poems allows students to understand the similarities and difference between the two genres. (author/ncl)

In this lesson, students explore the grace and beauty of motion in a variety of sports and dance. Examining photographs, students learn about the aesthetic elements of athletics as they use rich vocabulary to describe the images. They then write in reflective journals, view and interpret media, conduct Internet research, take digital photographs, and create original poems that are inspired by movement. The integration of popular media and digital cameras will motivate students to learn new words and compose original poetry. (author/ncl)

This lesson supports third- through fifth-grade students as they apply think-aloud strategies to reading. Using the theme of peace, students explore a variety of poems and picture books and write poems. Activities include collaborative as well as individual work. Technology tools are integrated as students research symbols of peace and as they prewrite, compose, and publish their poetry. Teachers may wish to review the wide array of activities in this lesson, selecting those that best match their instructional goals. (author/ncl)

In this lesson, students read and explore the poetry of Emily Dickinson to build their understanding of key literary elements. Students examine the use of imagery, sound, and metaphor and discover how to listen for meter in songs and poems. They begin by listening to clips of a hymn to help them hear Dickinson's meter. Then, they view 19-century bird images, describing what they see as they play with language and imagery, just as a poet would. Finally, they apply their knowledge of literary elements by writing a poem of their own using their own observations. This lesson provides a good introduction to figurative language and author's style. (author/ncl)

This lesson provides an opportunity for students to understand the experience of a slave trying to escape captivity through the Underground Railroad. Students listen to and sing African-American spirituals, and then learn the "coded messages" or true meaning of the lyrics. Once students understand the secret signals and passwords communicated through spirituals, they write their own original lyrics that contain coded messages and present them to the class.  This lesson effectively integrates music, language arts, and social studies to provide a richer understanding and perspective of slaves lives and how they communicated through song.  Ideas for extensions to this lesson are included.  Links are provided to related websites, additional lessons, and materials for teachers and students.  (author/jlkrause) 

This lesson provides students with the opportunity to write authentic news stories. Using print and online newspapers, students analyze news writing, summarize articles, and plan and write their own stories. Taking on the role of reporters and editors, students publish their own classroom newspaper. Various aspects of newspapers are introduced in this lesson, including parts of a newspaper, writing informational texts, newspaper reading habits, and layout and design techniques. (author/ncl)

This promising practice, part of a Scholastic's Writing with Writers series, provides strategies for teaching students to write biographies. Designed for implementation within writing workshop, this resource includes a warm-up exercise, genre-specific tips for biography writing, and an example of a biographical sketch. An assessment rubric and a list of support materials are also posted. (author/ncl)

Using traditional stories of native Alaskans and nonfiction texts about Arctic animals, students learn to adjust their reading strategies to meet the demands of different texts. Students use online resources to locate stories and find facts about animals in Alaska. They compare and contrast narrative and expository texts, noting differences in the purpose of each and the ways in which information is presented. This lesson emphasizes the integration of content across multiple areas of study. While the focus of this lesson is on Alaska, the instructional procedures described may be adapted for use with other topics. (author/ncl)

Snowflake Bentley, a Caldecott Medal-winning book about Wilson Bentley, is an example of a multigenre picture book. Along with the biographical text are large, colorful woodcuts and sidebars describing Bentley's experiments with microphotography and other biographical data. In this lesson, students create a working definition of multigenre. Then, using that knowledge, they will together to write their own multigenre piece about winter, using Snowflake Bentley as a model. This lesson allows students to apply their understanding of fiction and nonfiction text to categorize unfamiliar texts. (author/ncl)

This resource is an online interactive workshop where "young scientists" can move through the basic steps of organizing information on a topic of their choice to create a scientific report. Scholastic partners with the American Museum of Natural History to provide students with a step-by-step support system to transform a collection of notes, observations, research, and experiments into a well-organized and thorough science report. This report can be published online and shared with other young scientists. Students will find this site useful if they've already done research on a topic, or they may use it as a guide to set goals before gathering research and data. This site includes a teacher's guide, related booklists, definitions of scientific terms, lessons, PDF forms, examples of student scientist's reports, and audio commentaries from Dr. Susan Perkins, microbiologist.  Links are provided to science magazines and the American Museum of Natural History.  The site is rich with information, well-organized, comprehensive, easy to navigate, and it effectively integrates language arts and science. (author/jlkrause)

Students need to know they can derive information through a variety of sources. In this lesson students make use of a KWL chart and research the life of Harriet Tubman. They locate information in traditional reference materials and also through their impressions of artistic selections that include photographs and artistic renderings. They organize their information into two categories: information from factual sources and impressions formed from photographs, paintings, and songs. Students learn that both types of information are valuable and they learn what can be revealed through each type of information. Finally students write a well-constructed paragraph telling what they have learned. This lesson integrates language Arts with the visual arts and social studies. Links are provided for supportive materials, websites, and extensions that include a continuing lesson. (author/jlkrause) 

This lesson uses text sets (paired fiction and nonfiction texts on a similar content area topic) to increase student understanding of a content area subject and also develop writing skills.  The lesson begins by using a KWL chart to establish what the students know and also generate questions about the topic.  Narrative fiction is introduced first to stimulate interest.  Next the nonfiction text is introduced.  By reading both the fiction and nonfiction texts, the students should be able to answer questions and fill in details of what they have learned on the KWL chart. Genre elements of narrative and expository texts are then discussed and examples of texts that blend both elements (such as the Magic School Bus series) are examined. Students then write and share their own narrative story that includes expository information. Students are encouraged to choose from a variety of formats for creating and sharing their independent writing.  Links are provided that offer teachers additional strategies and resources for blending fact and fiction.  (author/jlkrause)