Grade 1
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Language
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Reading: Fluency
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Reading: Informational
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Reading: Literature
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Speaking & Listening
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Writing
CCSS ELA Standard: 1.W.5
With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
Power – Blue Whale vs Krill
Sure, a Blue Whale is huge. But does a tiny krill have more power?
Writing Haiku in Primary
Your youngest students will learn to write Japanese Haiku poetry.
That Quote’s Not Quite Right: Albert Einstein
When I see a quote, I often think, “That’s not quite right!”
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.
Improving Shakespeare’s Repetition
Let’s help William Shakespeare with his use of repetition.
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!
Change A Story’s Genre
What if we rewrote a story’s climax into a totally different genre?
Order, Chaos, and the Holiday Season
Let’s write a holiday song about order and chaos!
Emoji Stories 🦁
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Emoji Stories 🚗
Five emoji. One story. Where will your imagination take you?
Greekymon Studies – Round 3
What might a creature named “Aquacornus Rex” be like?
Mother’s Day Cards
Let’s write the cleverest Mother’s Day cards you’ve ever seen!
A Halloween Costume Gone Wrong
Let’s go roller skating in a Halloween costume! What could possibly go wrong?
Super Specific Similes: Quick Baby
Let’s make this simile about a quick baby even more specific.
Super Specific Similes: Loud Class
Let’s make this simile about a loud class super specific!
Super Specific Similes: Stinky Seaweed
Start with a basic simile. Now make it more specific. Now even more. Watch how much better writing gets with each round.
Squiggles Introduction
What do you see in this squiggle?
What If… Long Life?
What would the consequences be if all people lived much, much longer?
New Uses For A Chair
So, what can a chair be used for other than, you know, sitting in?
New Uses For A Pencil
So, what can a pencil be used for other than writing and drawing?
New Uses For An Aluminum Can
So, what CAN a CAN be used for other than storing liquids?
Lipogram: Rewrite “Mary Had A Little Lamb”
What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?
Lipogram: Rewrite “Twinkle, Twinkle”
What if we rewrote a piece of writing without using certain letters?
Holiday Writing: Packing Crates
An old photograph. A holiday scene. Pick one object in the picture and write from its point of view.
Stories with the Same Problems and Solutions
Have you ever noticed that some stories have awfully similar problems? What if we looked for the most unusual way of solving a repeating problem?
Back to School: Rewriting The Beatles’ “Help!”
Can your students come up with a one-syllable word to sum up their time away from school? And then rewrite The Beatles’ song Help!?
Introducing Universal Theme of Change
Everything changes. But how does it change? Students brainstorm dozens of examples and boil them down to one big idea.
Writing About Art: Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
Look closely at Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Writing About Art: Impression, Sunrise
Look closely at Impression, Sunrise. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
Writing in Pilish
Pi can go beyond circles! What if you wrote using the digits of pi as your guide?
Writing About Art: Chōshi in Shimosha
Get your students writing some pretty darn impressive poetry based on Japan’s most famous artist.
Writing About Art: Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
Look closely at Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. What do you notice? Now turn those details into a poem you didn’t know you could write.
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.
New Uses for a Paperclip
So what are some new ways to use a paperclip?
Writing About Art: The Scream
Your students will turn the iconic painting The Scream into a vivid, sensory poem.
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!
Doubling Up Writing: Anadiplosis
Repeating words can be what you want, if what you want is an interesting effect. (Psst, that’s an example of anadiplosis!)
Writing Technique: 3 Dependent Clauses
A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be writing sentences with three dependent clauses.
Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives
A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We’ll be using antonyms to describe the same topic!
Story Starter: A Magical School
Students use 12 random phrases to create a story that takes place in at a magical school.
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.
Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Shrinking)
A passage from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Writing Sample: The Velveteen Rabbit (The Toys)
A passage from The Velveteen Rabbit to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Writing Sample: White Fang (The Wild)
A passage from White Fang to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Writing Sample: The Jungle Book (Bagheera)
A passage from The Jungle Book to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Writing A Thanksgiving Letter
What if an inanimate object could express thanks for a special person in your life? What would it write?
SCAMPER: Scaffolding Creativity
Asking students to “think creatively” won’t get you far. They won’t know how to start, they’ll get stuck with simple ideas, or they’ll just go completely wild. SCAMPER is a tool for scaffolding the process of creativity.
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!
Writing Seuss Style Poetry
Sure, Dr. Seuss wrote for young students, but can older students analyze his writing and learn to mimic his style? THEN, they can produce Seuss-style poetry about any topic: Ancient China, the electromagnetic spectrum, Pride and Prejudice, and (yes) fraction division!
Create A Civilization: A Change In Government
It’s a great moment for your civilization! Power is moving from the hands of a few to a more democratic government.
Writing Sample: Moby Dick
A passage from Moby Dick to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
Writing Sample: Peter Pan
A passage from “Peter Pan” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.
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.
Run On or Not? – What’s In My Brain
Can your students spot the run-on sentences?
Student Introductions with Complexity and Frames
How have you changed over time? Students introduce themselves through the lens of change — and learn a Depth and Complexity tool in the process.
Student Introductions With Depth and Frames
Want to introduce the tools of Depth and Complexity and learn more about your students and introduce the Frame graphic organizer? Have I got the activity for you!
Pronouns With Too Many Antecedents
What happens when a pronoun could refer to more than one noun? Big problems!
Academic Love Letters
What if Kylo Ren wrote a love letter to Abe Lincoln or the Sahara Desert wrote one to the Moon?
Depth and Complexity: 🌻 Details
Get kids focusing on the small, but essential, details of a topic.
Educational Valentines
Let’s make valentines with an educational twist!
“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.
Writing Summaries in Haiku
Let’s write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.
Fancier Figurative Language: Start with a Cliche
We’ll start with the cliché “as cold as ice” and go somewhere much more interesting.
Writing Clear Directions
Can you write directions so clear that a group of kids can put a toy together with no illustrations?