Arizona ELA Standard: 1.L.1.k

Chaos Makes Sense (Later)

In the moment, a chaotic event makes no sense. But later, that same event can feel like it was part of a larger story.

Gr 1-8

Order to Chaos: Dominoes or Dam?

Sometimes outside forces turn order into chaos. But sometimes chaos comes from within.

Gr 2-8

Earth’s Layers: Who Contributes The Most?

Earth’s layers will disagree about which one contributes the most to the planet’s success.

Gr 1-8

An Under-Appreciated Planet

Students write from the point of view of the most under-appreciated planet.

Gr 1-8

Order and Chaos Hide Inside Each Other

Chaos can contain order. Order can contain chaos! Is chaos ever truly random?

Gr 3-8

Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative

Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!

Gr 1-8

Power Big Idea Worksheets

Your students will investigate statements like: Power leads to change, Power comes in many forms, Power can be used or abused.

Gr 2-8

Characters’ Faults Can Also Be Strengths

Strength and weakness are often two sides of the same coin. Students will explore how a character’s flaw can be a benefit.

Gr 1-8

Halloween Problems and Solutions

When we try to solve a problem, sometimes we end up creating new problems. Which lead to new solutions. Which lead to new problems.

Gr 1-8

Getting Specific With St. Patrick’s Day Writing

Let’s take a starting phrase about St. Patrick’s Day and get specific. No, even more specific!

Gr 1-8

Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season

Let’s write a holiday song about order and chaos!

Gr 1-8

Holiday Emoji Story ⛷️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Holiday Emoji Story 🍪

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Holiday Emoji Story ☃️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Holiday Emoji Story 🎅

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Holiday Emoji Story 🚚

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Halloween Emoji Story 🎃

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Halloween Emoji Story 🌕

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Halloween Emoji Story 🕷️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 🦁

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 🐌

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 🚚

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Emoji Stories 🏟️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Emoji Stories 🕰️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 👁️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Emoji Stories 🚗

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 🤖

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 🐻

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 2-8

Emoji Stories 🏰

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Emoji Stories 🛥️

Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?

Gr 1-8

Pluto – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about Pluto back into the correct order?

Gr 1-8

Great Sloths – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about great sloths back into the correct order?

Gr 1-8

The Moon – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about The Moon back into the correct order?

Gr 1-8

The Great Sphinx – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about The Great Sphinx back into the correct order?

Gr 2-8

Rainclouds – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about rain clouds back into the correct order?

Gr 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8

Coral Reef – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about the coral reef back into the correct order?

Gr 2, 3, 6, 8

Greekymon Studies – Round 3

What might a creature named “Aquacornus Rex” be like?

Gr 1-8

Greekymon Studies – Round 2

What might a creature named “Hypermnemonicus” be like?

Gr 1-8

Mother’s Day Cards

Let’s write the cleverest Mother’s Day cards you’ve ever seen!

Gr 1-8

Parts of Speech Party – Fruit

How many different ways can we use the word “fruit”? Let’s find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Gr 1-8

Bobbing for Apples

What is bobbing for apples like… for an apple?

Gr 2-8

A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong

Let’s go roller skating in a Halloween costume! What could possibly go wrong?

Gr 1-8

What If… Unreliable Water?

What would the consequences be if a town’s tap water became… unreliable?

Gr 3-8

What If… Long Life?

What would the consequences be if all people lived much, much longer?

Gr 1-8

What If… No Sleep?

What would the consequences be if no one had to sleep anymore?

Gr 1-8

Random Emoji Prompt Generator

Click up an interesting, visual writing prompt suitable for any grade or purpose.

Gr 1-8

Automobiles – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about automobiles back into the correct order?

Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8

Washington, DC – Mixed Up Paragraph

These sentences about Washington, DC got scrambled. Can you put them back in order using nothing but context clues?

Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8

Trains – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about trains back into the correct order?

Gr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8

Earthquakes – Mixed Up Paragraph

Can you use the context clues to get these sentences about earthquakes back into the correct order?

Gr 2, 3, 4, 6, 8

Writing in Pilish

Pi can go beyond circles! What if you wrote using the digits of pi as your guide?

Gr 1-8

Analyze Paragraphs: Baseball

Three paragraphs about baseball. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

Gr 1-8

Analyze Paragraphs: Cucumbers

Three paragraphs about cucumbers. They all cover the same topic — so what makes each one different? Now combine them into one super-paragraph.

Gr 1-8

A Lunar Survival Mission

A favorite of mine! This task is delightfully complex and ambiguous, forcing students to make choices without enough information and with no right answer. How will they survive on the moon for three days?

Gr 1-8

Writing Technique: Triple Anadiplosis!

Have students mastered the art of anadiplosis: ending one sentence with the beginning of the next? Now it’s time to take it to the next level!

Gr 1-8

Story Starter: A Day At School

Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place at school.

Gr 1-8

Story Starter: Amusement Park

Students use 12 random phrases to write a story that takes place in at an amusement park.

Gr 2-8

Story Starter: A Magical School

Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in at a magical school.

Gr 1-8

Story Starter: Somewhere In Space

Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in space!

Gr 3-8

Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Falling)

A passage from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Gr 1-8

Punctuation Power

In a sentence, punctuation may seem meek when compared to those mighty words, but punctuation has incredible power over the meaning of a sentence. Students will try re-punctuating sentences to find new meanings – without changing a single word!

Gr 1-8

Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences

Blow up a paragraph into individual sentences. Now reassemble it. The clues hiding in each sentence will surprise you.

Gr 1-8

Educational Valentines

Let’s make valentines with an educational twist!

Gr 1-8

“Its Big Day” – A Children’s Story About Its and It’s

Let’s spice up a typically dull lesson about the difference between “its” and “it’s” by asking students to write a children’s story about the adventures of a critter named It.

Gr 1-8

Creating A Classroom Motto

Starting with specific examples of fantastic classroom behavior, your class will end up with one sentence summing up their expectations. It’s a classroom motto!

Gr 1-8

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

A typical student narrative includes plot and characters but lacks a larger idea to hold it all together. This is where a lesson on themes comes in…

Gr 1-8

Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea

We open our unit on narrative writing with a big idea: “structure increases creativity.” I show how this is true by bringing in examples from across all disciplines.

Gr 1-8

Better Stories Part 4: Character Archetypes

Are students’ characters a bit flat? Archetypes give them a strong foundation on which to build their own characters as well as a tool to analyze existing stories.

Gr 1-8