1 Who's Got Mail?: Using Literature to Promote Authentic Letter Writing Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 2–3 Professional Commentary: 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.... 2 Journal Writing with Virginia Hamilton Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–5 Professional Commentary: This resource, part of Scholastic's Writing With Writers series, provides strategies to teach descriptive journal writing. Designed for implementation within a writing workshop format, this resource includes a sample journal entry, writing tips, strategies, and challenges to help students develop their own journal writing.... 3 Postcards From My Planet Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Science, Reading Grades: Grades 3–4 Professional Commentary: This 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.... 4 Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination: "Leap,plashless" Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–5 Professional Commentary: 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.... 5 Myths, Folktales, and Fairy Tales: Writing with Writers Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 2–3 Professional Commentary: This promising practice, part of Scholastic's Writing With Writers series, provides strategies for teaching students to craft their own fairy tales. Designed for implementation within writing workshop, this cross grade level writing project features several components, including fractured fairy tales activities inspired by Jon Scieszka.... 6 Writing and Assessing an Autobiographical Incident Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 4–5 Professional Commentary: 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.... 7 Poetry Writing with Karla Kuskin Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–5 Professional Commentary: Part of Scholastic's Writing with Writers series, this resource features lessons and activities for use in writing workshop. This poetry writing project is designed to teach students strategies for creating original poetry.... 8 Planning Story Characters Using Interactive Trading Cards Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–5 Professional Commentary: 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.... 9 Born on a Mountaintop : Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grade 3 Professional Commentary: This resource, maintained by the National Endowment for the Humanities, uses historical documents and tall tales about Davy Crockett as the focus for a unit on American tall tales. The suggested lessons allow students to examine the characteristics of tall tales and how these tales reflect historical events.... 10 Creating a Classroom Newspaper Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 3–4 Professional Commentary: 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.... |