Students craft comic scripts using clear, descriptive, and detailed writing that shows (illustrates) and tells (directs). After peers create an artistic interpretation of the script, students revise their original scripts.
The Comic Book Show and Tell
Defining Literacy in a Digital World
Through listing and observation, students identify the many texts that they read and composeincluding books and magazines, television shows, movies, audio broadcasts, hypertexts, and animations.
Exploring Language and Identity: Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" and Beyond
Students explore the idea of "different Englishes" by reading Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue" and writing literacy narratives about their own use of different language for different audiences and purposes.
Writing about Writing: An Extended Metaphor Assignment
After discussing the poem "The Writer" by Richard Wilbur, students analyze their own writing habits and create an extended metaphor describing themselves as writers.
Plot Structure: A Literary Elements Mini-Lesson
Students learn that the plot structure described by Freytag's Pyramid is actually quite familiar as they diagram the plots of a familiar story, a television show, and a narrative poem.
Draft Letters: Improving Student Writing through Critical Thinking
Draft letters ask students to think critically about their writing on a specific assignment before submitting their work to a reader. This lesson explains and provides models for the strategy.
Audio Broadcasts and Podcasts: Oral Storytelling and Dramatization
After exploring Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, students create their own audio dramatization of a text they have read.
You're the Top! Pop Culture Then and Now
Students analyze the lyrics to Cole Porter's "You're the Top!" and then update them to include current "tops" in pop culture.
Put That on the List: Independently Writing a Catalog Poem
In this follow-up to writing collaborative catalog poems, students write individual catalog poems about what really matters in their lives, based on Carver's poem "The Car."
Put That on the List: Collaboratively Writing a Catalog Poem
Using the structure of a list poem, students combine creative expression with poetic techniques and language exploration in order to write group poems about what really matters in their lives.
Designing Museum Exhibits for The Grapes of Wrath: A Multigenre Project
Using The Grapes of Wrath as a backdrop, students conduct research on issues that the novel addresses, publishing their findings in a multigenre museum exhibit.
Comparing Fiction and Nonfiction with "Little Red Riding Hood Text" Sets
Students discuss and compare differing versions of "Little Red Riding Hood" and other tales about wolves in cumulative read-aloud sessions and text set explorations.
Myth and Truth: The Gettysburg Address
By exploring myths and truths surrounding Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, students think critically about commonly believed stories regarding this famous speech from the Civil War era.
Investigating Names to Explore Personal History and Cultural Traditions
Students investigate the meanings and origins of their names in order to establish their own personal histories and to explore the cultural significance of naming traditions.
So What Do You Think? Writing a Review
Writing a review of an author's work challenges students to develop their critical thinking skills. It provides an opportunity for students to speak their mindsand to enjoy being heard.
Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter
Students write persuasive letters to their librarian requesting that specific texts be added to the school library. As they work, students plan their arguments and outline their reasons and examples.
Audio Listening Practices: Exploring Personal Experiences with Audio Texts
Students keep a daily diary that records how and when they listen to audio texts, then analyze the details and compare their results to published reports on American radio listeners.
Creating Family Timelines: Graphing Family Memories and Significant Events
Students interview family members, and then create graphic family timelines based on important and memorable family events.
Our Classroom: Writing an Owner's Manual
Students write an owner's manual that helps them get to know their classroom, provides them with a sense of ownership, and lets others know about their classroom.
Copyright Infringement or Not? The Debate over Downloading Music
This lesson takes advantage of students' interest in music and audio sharing. Students investigate multiple perspectives in the music downloading debate and develop a persuasive argument for a classroom debate.