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Arizona ELA Standard: 5.W.3.b

Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue and description, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.

Characters’ Faults Can Also Be Strengths
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
St. Patrick and Other Legends
St. Patrick and Other Legends
How would real people feel about the legends that have been created about them?
Gr 2-8
Comparing Characters’ Bedrooms
Comparing Characters’ Bedrooms
What item’s in a character’s bedroom would reflect their deepest desires? And what if they toured a similar character’s room?
Gr 1-8
Change A Story’s Genre
Change A Story’s Genre
What if we rewrote a story’s climax into a totally different genre?
Gr 1-8
Emoji Stories 🏟️
Emoji Stories 🏟️
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Gr 2-8
Emoji Stories 🤖
Emoji Stories 🤖
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Gr 1-8
Emoji Stories 🛥️
Emoji Stories 🛥️
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Gr 1-8
A Character’s Playlist
A Character’s Playlist
What playlist of songs best goes with a character’s change over time?
Gr 1-8
Writing About Art: Twilight in the Wilderness
Writing About Art: Twilight in the Wilderness
Look closely at Twilight in the Wilderness. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Gr 1-8
Writing About Art: The Scream
Writing About Art: The Scream
Your students will turn the iconic painting The Scream into a vivid, sensory poem.
Gr 1-8
Writing Sample: A Christmas Carol (Cold)
Writing Sample: A Christmas Carol (Cold)
A passage from White Fang to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Story Starter: Amusement Park
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: Somewhere In Space
Story Starter: Somewhere In Space
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in space!
Gr 3-8
Writing Sample: The Velveteen Rabbit (The Toys)
Writing Sample: The Velveteen Rabbit (The Toys)
A passage from The Velveteen Rabbit to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Writing Sample: Peter Pan
Writing Sample: Peter Pan
A passage from “Peter Pan” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
A passage from “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Writing Sample: Anne of Green Gables
Writing Sample: Anne of Green Gables
An intriguing passage from Anne of Green Gables to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Gr 1-8
Do Narrators Have Too Much Power?
Do Narrators Have Too Much Power?
Imagine being a character in a story. Are you worried that your story’s narrator may inaccurately describe you? What if they reveal something you wanted to be kept secret? Do narrators have too much power!?
Gr 1-8
The Personalities of Rocks
The Personalities of Rocks
What would an igneous rock be like? Would it get along with a sedimentary rock? Could they handle the hot personality of a metamorphic rock?
Gr 2-8
Showing A Character’s Trait
Showing A Character’s Trait
We tell students to ‘show, not tell’ — but that advice is useless until they experience the difference. This lesson makes it click.
Gr 2-8
Historic Social Media
Historic Social Media
How would people from history have interacted online? Students will develop a conversation online between people involved in the same event from history.
Gr 1-8
Better Stories Part 2: Types of Conflict
Better Stories Part 2: Types of Conflict
If your students’ stories are packed with endless ninja fights or arguments between frenemies, it’s time to expose them to a wider range of conflicts.
Gr 1-8
Better Stories Part 4: Character Archetypes
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