Some of Fleishman's memories in his essay "My House of Voices" are shared with the class. Students then write a descriptive essay that gives a tour of the voices in their homes, school, etc.

Get children excited about writing and descriptive language by creating yummy descriptions of their favorite candy.

Kids will love Hink Pinks—word puzzles that use two-word clues to lead to a rhyming solution. Try one and get hooked yourself: Obese feline? Fat cat!

Children learn how to make a convincing argument—an important skill in school and in life.

In this activity, children look closely at living things in their natural environments and then make books about what they see.

Let children explore an interesting subject—themselves. An online tool will teach them to summarize and organize information as they write.

Use shape and theme poems, or poems that look like the things they describe, as a fun way to introduce children to poetry.

Use recipes to help children practice reading and writing step-by-step instructions. Have them sample the results to see how they did.

Use the online Trading Card Creator tool to have children make cards describing their favorite characters from the books on their reading list.

While enjoying a book that features a journey, children write postcards from the perspective of the main character for each stop along the trip.

Want to visit a museum without leaving your computer? Virtually dig for famous historical artifacts from around the world found in the British Museum.

After reading about historical figures and other important people that have changed the world, children choose someone that they consider to be "amazing"—either someone they've heard about or someone they know—and create a book page that highlights this person.

Brainstorm popular expressions with friends and family, then explore their meanings through game play and writing/drawing/cut-and-paste activities.

Create a treasure hunt out of word-puzzle clues hidden around the home or yard.

Everyone loves getting a greeting card, especially if it's homemade. Make a funny or thoughtful greeting card or invitation with pictures and a poem, joke, or riddle.

Children incorporate materials from outdoors with paints or crayons to create pieces of art to display on their clotheslines, fences, or porches for a neighborhood art show.

Using published comics and cartoons as examples, children can create their own while playing with images and language.

Sort through your junk mail and talk about what you find for a fun literacy activity before recycling it!

Children can interview family members and make an illustrated timeline of the most important family events and memories.