Students write about main characters. In this dramatic writing lesson plan, students brainstorm character ideas. Students create actions and give the character a voice. Students act out the scene in groups and create a final draft.

Have your class construct an adverb wheel. Learners brainstorm adverbs to modify the verbs they use to describe how they will eat a doughnut hole. They then use the wheel to help them write creative sentences.

The final activity in a unit study of immigration and human rights asks class members to design a project for their school that builds support for immigrant classmates. To prepare for this project, individuals use what they have learned...

Students create Inspiration webs using graphics or photographs that depict high and low points in their lives. This technology-based Language Arts lesson for the upper-elementary or middle-level classroom is excellent for improving...

Some emotions are indescribable, but sometimes you have to try! After brainstorming adjectives that describe emotions, pupils watch a quick film, at first with no sound. Partners share their adjectives and come up with descriptions for...

Friends are the overarching theme of this set of extension activities for more advanced learners. Kids complete a variety of different activities, such as putting together an alphabet book, writing about friends, creating books about...

Class groups are challenged to solve the school’s parking problem. Each team must establish ground rules for their discussion, determine criteria that must be met, and brainstorm possible solutions. Next, they agree on one solution and...

Fourth graders view a PowerPoint presentation "Setting goals." They use Kidspiration to organize long and short term goals for academics. Students write essays about Goal Setting. Students work in groups and create a dialogue involving...

Learners investigate the concept of the number one million. In this number concepts lesson plan, students read the book How Much is a Million? and brainstorm questions, such as "how many leaves are on a tree" and "how many hairs are on...

Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...

After a review of what suffixes are and how they are used, middle schoolers utilize a worksheet that is embedded in the plan to work in pairs to strengthen their understanding and skills in using these very important parts of our...

Ninth graders brainstorm words they typically use to label each other, discuss effects of labeling, including reinforcement of stereotypes, and experience potentially harming and limiting effects that labels have by participating in...

Living on your own is hard, especially when you have to live with roommates. Discuss the importance of shared living situations and how to make them as good as possible with your class. They brainstorm what makes a good roommate, ways to...

Getting kids thinking about climate change now, will hopefully push them into action when they become adults. Young environmentalists discuss the evidence and causes of climate change seen in the state of California. They brainstorm ways...

What is substance abuse? What is the difference between a depressant and a stimulant? Here is a comprehensive unit on drug use, including three lessons with such activities as categorizing and defining key terms, identifying...

What would you ask a presidential candidate if you had the chance? Bring politics to your language arts classroom with this lesson, in which young readers brainstorm questions they would have liked the presidential candidates to answer....

Students use iPhoto to create a class alphabet book. After the teacher reads several alphabet books to the class, students brainstorm the names of objects that start with each letter of the alphabet.

Learners brainstorm words that start with each letter of the alphabet, take digital pictures of words that start with assigned letter, and use iPhoto to create class alphabet book.

Junior designers brainstorm the elements that a bedroom might have, such as a bed, television, and dresser. They identify which items are needs and which are desires. They practice measurement skills in the classroom by determining its...

Use a vocabulary asssignment as a quick activity between reading chapters of Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Young readers choose their favorite words from the vocabulary word list to describe Sal, Phoebe, or any other character from...

Combine math, creative writing, and leprechauns in a fun St. Patrick's Day activity! Using a bag of gold coins and marshmallows, kids write a math story about a leprechaun that includes a multi-step equation to solve.

Students study the elements of folktales. They write, perform and produce their own African folktales using camcorders and movie software.

Students examine the art of storytelling. In groups, they write their own African folktales, design costumes, props and scenery, and videotape folktale presented in dramatic form.

Elementary schoolers develop an awareness of the literary form known as the fable. They explore how authors write fables to pass along moral lessons. After reading and discussing many famous fables embedded in the plan, learners attempt...